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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



EVERY MAN 
HIS OWN CATTLE DOCTOR: 

C ONT AINING 

THE CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, AND TREATMENT OF ALL THE 
DISEASES INCIDENT TO 

OXEN, SHEEP, AND SWINE; 

AND A SKETCH OF THE 

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 

OF 

NEAT CATTLE. 

BY FRANCIS CLATER. 

EDITED, REVISED, AND ALMOST REWRITTEN 

BY WILLIAM YOUATT, 

AUTHOR OF "THE HORSE," & C . 

WITH NUMEROUS ADDITIONS, 

EMBRACING 

AN ESSAY ON THE USE OF OXEN, 

AKD THE 

IMPROVEMENT IN THE BREED OF SHEEP, &c. 
BY J. S. SKINNER, 

ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL. 

WITH NUMEROUS CUTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 



PHILADELPHIA: 
LEA AND BLANCHARI 
1844. 




J, i y J v 



Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by 
LEA AND BLANCHARD, 

in the clerk's office of the district court of the United States in and for 
the eastern district of Pennsylvania. 



^ 






J. Fagan, Stereotype i*. 
J. & W. Kite, Printers. 

(6) 
J 



C Vg , 



ADVERTISEMENT 



TO THE 



NINTH ENGLISH EDITION 



Since the Eighth Edition of this work was published, 
considerable improvement has been made in the treat- 
ment of the diseases of cattle, in consequence of which 
this volume has again undergone a thorough revision, 
and several new chapters have been added. The pro- 
prietors for this purpose have placed the work in the 
hands of a Veterinary Surgeon of extensive experience, 
and they trust the desire they have evinced of rendering 
it still more worthy of public patronage will meet with a 
corresponding support. 

August, 1842. 



(vii) 



PREFACE 



TO THE 



SEVENTH ENGLISH EDITION 



Since the publication of the last edition of this work, 
a kind of revolution has taken place in Cattle Medicine. 
Veterinary practitioners had been strangely forgetful of 
the proper extent of their professional duty, and the 
treatment of the diseases of caule had, with few excep- 
tions, (but among which we may justly rank the original 
author of " Every Man his own Cattle Doctor,") remain- 
ed in the hands of the uneducated and the ignorant. It 
has now, however, begun to be understood that all 
domesticated animals are the legitimate objects of the 
veterinarian's care ; and veterinary surgeons of no mean 
eminence do not think it a degradation to practise on 
the diseases of cattle, and sheep, and dogs, and swine. 
Public lectures on these subjects are at length delivered, 
in the University of London, and at Edinburgh, and a 
knowledge of this branch of veterinary medicine has 
wonderfully increased. 

Lender such circumstances the proprietors of this work 
have endeavoured to discharge their duty to the public. 
A new edition being required, they have obtained the 
assistance of an eminent practitioner of both horse and 
cattle medicine, who, while he has retained all that was 
useful in the former edition (and there was a great deal 
that was truly valuable, and particularly with regard to 
the symptoms of diseases), has endeavoured to keep pace 
with the progress of the art. The book is in a manner 
re-written; and the additions on the diseases of swine, 
now for the first time thrown into a regular and scientific 
form, in the English language, will be found peculiarly 
valuable. 

June, 1832. 

(ix) 



PREFACE 



TO THE 



FIRST AMERICAN EDITION 



" There are two great sources of the mortality of cattle and sheep, and the loss 
of agricultural property; and it is difficult to say which is the worst,— the ignorance 
and obstinacy of the servant and the cow-leech, or the ignorance and supineness of 
the owner." Youatt. 



The beneficence of an all-wise Providence in so organizing 
man as to secure him dominion over animals of inferior physical 
construction, imposes on him the obligation to exercise that emi- 
nent advantage in a spirit of mercy, and in mitigation of the 
pains and disorders of the brute creation ; and both the obliga- 
tion and the necessity to do so, are enhanced by the considera- 
tion,' that in being domesticated and made subservient to our 
uses, animals lose in a great measure that instinct which enables 
them to distinguish what is noxious from that which is whole- 
some, and become, as does the human race in the process of 
civilization, liable to numerous and complicated diseases to which 
they are comparatively strangers when roaming in the simple 
habits and unrestrained freedom of nature. 

Assuredly, there is no great charity in the creed which would 
teach that of all the variety of God's creation that make up his 
animal kingdom, some of them displaying high culture and fine 
affections of mind and heart, he should care alone for the pre- 
sent and future happiness of man ! 

" Know Nature's children all divide her care ; 
The fur that warms a monarch warmed a bear ; 
While man exclaims, ' See all things for my use !' 
* See man for mine,' replies a pampered goose : 
And just as short of reason must he fall 
Who thinks all made for one, not one for all." 

(xi) 



Xll PREFACE. 

To the sparseness of our agricultural population, we may 
probably attribute, in a great measure, the absence of a class of 
persons, well supported in Europe, who profess to treat scienti- 
fically, the diseases of domestic animals. There, the study of 
comparative anatomy has served to illustrate and improve the 
science of medicine. More especially was it subservient to that 
end in past ages of superstition, when the dissection of the human 
body was regarded as sacrilegious. The discovery, says Doctor 
Rush, of the salivary glands in an ox — of the fallopian tubes in 
an ewe — of the thoracic duct in a horse — of the lacteals in a 
kid — and of the pancreas in a turkey, led to the discovery of 
the same parts in the human body ; and it is well known that 
the circulation of the blood and of the peristaltic motion of the 
bowels, in man, were first suggested by experiments and obser- 
vations on animals of the lower order. Their physical structure 
and complaints have, in fact, for years past, been the subject of 
regular lectures by the ablest Professors in the Universities of 
London and Edinburgh ; and hence it is, that there, improve- 
ments in the veterinary have kept pace with the progress of 
other useful arts, until it has reached, in practice, a high degree 
of certainty, and of honour as an intellectual profession. Under 
such auspices, and assurances of authority and excellence, has 
this ninth edition of " Clayter's every man his own Cattle 
Doctor" been published in England — compounded, not by 
ignorant cow-leeches, and made up of nostrums to be adminis- 
tered without judgment or discretion, but embodying the mature 
results of careful and scientific research. 

In the hands of the American Editor, the work now presented 
has undergone no alteration of matter or arrangement. He has 
not presumed to disturb what he could not hope to amend ; but 
some additions have been made in the confident hope of render- 
ing this edition more acceptable by making it more useful to the 
American reader. These additions will be found to consist of 
essays and illustrations intended to diffuse such information on 



PREFACE. XU1 

the general subject, as may well be coveted by every Gentleman 
Farmer, and to lead to important practical reforms. He has 
endeavoured particularly to impress his own persuasion, that a 
more general use of oxen in place of horses, would be highly 
expedient and economical, accompanying his reflections on this 
topic with ample instructions as to breeding, breaking, and gear- 
ing them. 

« 
Deeming familiarity with the names of every part of the 
animal frame essential to an intelligent treatment of accidental 
injuries or disorders to which it is constantly exposed, anatomical 
delineations have, for that purpose, been introduced, which are 
not given in the English work. For the same purpose, and 
illustrated in like manner, certain instruments and contrivances 
there only referred to, as necessary in the administration of re- 
lief in certain dangerous cases of common occurrence, will be 
found in this American edition — viz : the stilet probang, for 
relieving cattle that are choked, and Read's Patent Veterinary 
Syringe or Stomach Pump, to be used for the extraction of gas, 
when cattle get hoven, as often happens, by over-feeding on 
green and wet clover, or other deleterious substances. 

To the medical part of the work in the shape of notes, some 
recipes have been appended, consisting of elements more simple 
or more easily procured than those prescribed in the text ; but 
only such have been thus inserted as seemed to be either inno- 
cent in themselves, or recommended on alleged experience and 
respectable authority. 

To say nothing of the duty which common humanity enjoins 
on every one, to be prepared with common medicines, and 
directions for the use of them, which may enable him to extend 
prompt relief to speechless suffering ; on the sordid score of self- 
interest alone, the most calculating, it may be supposed, will not 
hesitate to provide himself with a book which in teaching him 
2 



XIV PREFACE. 

to be his " own Cattle Doctor," may enable him to save the life 
even of the meanest animal on his estate. In a word, the want 
of some such work would be an obvious defect in every farmer's 
library, however small it may be, and this one is of the highest 
and most recent authority in a country where the subjects of 
which it treats have been most carefully investigated and are 
best understood. To have been revised and sanctioned by Mr. 
Youatt, as it is believed to have been, is of itself a sufficient 
title to public confidence. 

J. S. S. 

Washington, April, 1844. 



CONTENTS. 



Advertisement to the ninth English edition, - - - Page vii 
Preface to the seventh English edition, ------ ix 

Preface to the first American edition, by J. S. Skinner, Esq. xi 

CATTLE. 
Introduction — Anatomy and Physiology of Neat Cattle, - 19 
Number of Neat Cattle in each of the United States, ac- 
cording to the census of 1840> --- 37 

Skeleton of the Ox, and Explanations, ----- 38, 39 

Chapter I. Inflammation, -----------40 

II. Bleeding, its utility ■ — and in what cases neces- 

cessary, 42 

III. On Physic, 43 

IV. On Setoning, ----------45 

V. Cold— Cough— Hoose, 46 

VI. Inflammation of the Lungs, ------ 50 

VII. Rheumatism, or Joint Fellon, 51 

VEIL Inflammation of the Liver, ------ 53 

IX. The Yellows, or Jaundice, 55 

X. Inflammation of the Brain, ------ 56 

XI. Inflammation of the Bowels, with Costiveness, 59 
XII. Diarrhoea, or Purging, --------61 

XIII. Dysentery, Slimy Flux, or Scouring Rot, - 62 

XIV. Red-water, 65 

XV. Garget, or the Downfall in the Udder of Cows, 68 

XVI. Treatment of the Cow, before and during 

Calving, -----------71 

XVII. The Milk Fever, or the Drop, 76 

XVIII. The Brain, &c, 80 

(xv) 



XVI CONTENTS. 

XIX. The Blood, Blood-striking, Black-leg, Quarter 

Evil, or Black-quarter, 82 

XX. Murrain, or Pestilential Fever, 85 

XXI. The Epedemic of 1840 and 1841, - - - - 91 

XXII. Inflammation of the Bladder, 94 

XXIII. Stone in the Urinary Passages, or Bladder, - 96 

XXIV. Diseases of the Eye, 97 

XXV. The Hoove, Hoven, or Blown, 101 

XXVI. Choking, 108 

XXVII. Locked Jaw, 110 

XXVIII. Poisons, 112 

XXIX. Wounds, 113 

XXX. Strains and Bruises, 114 

XXXI. Cancerous Ulcers, 121 

XXXII. Angle'Berries, 122 

XXXIII. The Foul in the Foot, 123 

XXXIV. To Dry a Cow of her Milk, ------ 124 

XXXV. The Mange, 125 

XXXVI. To produce Bulling in the Cow, and Treat- 
ment of Bull-burnt, -------- 127 

XXXVII. The Cow-pox, 128 

XXXVIII. Clue-bound— Fardel-bound, 130 

XXXIX. Rabies— Hydrophobia, 130 

XL. The Diseases incident to Young Calves, - - 131 
Postscript to the Diseases of Cattle, by J. S. Skinner, Esq. 138 
Essay on the advantages of the Use of Oxen in the Hus- 
bandry of the United States, by J. S. Skinner, Esq., - 142 

SHEEP. 
Sheep Husbandry- — Diseases of Sheep, by J. S. Skin- 
ner, Esq., -------- 169 

On the Diseases of Sheep, ------ 193 

Sect. I. The Lambing Season, 194 

II. The Diseases of Young Lambs, ----- 198 

IE. Red-water, 202 



CONTENTS. Xvii 

IV. The Blood, 203 

V. Sturdy, Giddiness, or Water in the Head, - - 204 

VI. Inflammation of the Brain, 206 

VII. Cold — Inflammation of the Lungs — Influenza, - 207 

VIII. Blown, or Blast, 209 

IX. The Yellows, or Jaundice, 210 

X. The Rot, 211 

XI. The Foot Rot, 218 

XII. The Scab, 223 

XIII. Lice, Ticks, and Flies, 228 

XIV. Sore Heads, 232 

XV. Diarrhoea, or Purging, --------- 233 

XVI. Indigestion and Debility, -------- 234 

XVII. Blindness, 235 

XVIII. Fractures, Wounds and Bites, 237 

XIX. General Cautions, ---------- 239 

SWINE. 

On the Diseases of Swine, --- 241 

Inflammation of the Lungs, ----------241 

Apoplexy and Inflammation of the Brain, 242 

Measles, 243 

Mange, 244 

Sore Ears, 244 

Pigging, 244 

Quinsy, 245 

Costiveness, --__ 246 

Inflammation of the Bowels, 246 



2* 



INTRODUCTION. 



ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 



OF 



NEAT CATTLE. 



The term Neat Cattle comprehends all the varieties of the Ox. 
This animal belongs to that numerous order termed Ruminants, from 
their singular property of bringing back their food into the mouth, 
after the first swallowing of it, in order that it may undergo a second 
and more perfect mastication. 

Their distinguishing characteristics are the absence of front teeth 
in the upper jaw, whose place is supplied by a callous pad ; the divi- 
sion of the stomach into four distinct compartments discharging 
essentially different functions ; and the feet being cloven. 

The ox, whether domestic or wild, and varying materially in ap- 
pearance from difference of breed and climate and food, possesses 
certain characteristics, which separate him from all other ruminants : 
these are the strength and squareness of the skull — the horns, where 
there are any, invariably growing from the crest or ridge of the fore- 
head, projecting first laterally, and being composed of a horny case 
covering a porous or cellular bone — the muzzle being broad, and de- 
void of hair, and moist — no mane on the neck — the dewlap generally 
deep — only thirteen pairs of ribs — the tail reaching down almost to 
the heels, and the udder containing four teats, forming a kind of 
square. It will be advantageous to take a rapid view of the different 
parts of the structure of the ox. 

The bones are the most solid portions of the frame : they sustain 
the soft parts, give shape to the animal, and protect the most impor- 
tant organs, as the brain, lungs, &c, from injury. 

The bones, although solid, are perfectly organised, having blood- 
vessels, absorbents, and nerves : they are composed of a gelatinous 
matter, in which an earthy substance, phosphate of lime, is deposited, 
and to which they are indebted for their hardness. 

(19) 



20 INTRODUCTION. 

The centre of almost all the bones is more or less hollow, and con- 
tains marrow. This substance seems to be necessary to the health 
of the bone, and it may be a reservoir of nutriment in case any parti- 
cular state of the constitution should require it. 

The bones are covered by a membrane called the periosteum, which 
gives attachment or hold to the muscles by which the bones are 
moved. The erfds of the bones, forming the joints, are tipped with 
cartilage, which is a polished elastic substance, facilitating the mo- 
tions of the heads of the bones upon each other, and preventing bad 
effects from concussion. Still more to avoid friction or concussion, 
these cartilages are lined by a membrane, which secretes an oily 
fluid, — the joint oil or synovia. The heads of the bones are held to- 
gether by ligaments, and thus joints are formed. These ligaments 
are white, fibrous, and tough ; possessed of sufficient elasticity to 
accommodate themselves to the various motions of the joints, but not 
enough to endanger their strength. 

The Head. — The head, comprehending the skull and face of the 
animal, is composed of numerous bones closely united to each other. 
The skull contains and defends from injuries that important organ, 
the brain ; and in it are found four of the organs of sense, which 
minister so much to the enjoyment of the animal, viz. those of hear- 
ing, sight, taste, and smell. 

The Teeth. — Neat cattle have eight fore teeth in the lower jaw, 
and none in the upper one : twelve grinders in the lower jaw, and as 
many corresponding ones in the upper one. Each tooth has its body 
and root : the body is all that part appearing without the gum, the 
root or fang is covered by the gum, and lies deep in the bony socket. 
The front teeth are composed of two substances, — the internal bony 
part, and its covering, the enamel. This latter is exceedingly hard, 
and gives to the front teeth their cutting edge. The sides of the back- 
teeth are also covered with enamel, and columns of enamel are let 
down into the body of these teeth. While the bone is gradually worn 
away, the enamel is scarcely touched, and so there is formed a rough 
and uneven surface on the top of the grinders, admirably adapted for 
breaking down the. food. 

The teeth, although of firmer structure than the rest of the bones, 
are also plentifully supplied with nerves and blood-vessels. 

How to ascertain the Age of Neat Cattle by their Teeth. — The calf is 
usually born with two'fore or cutting teeth, and at a month old the 
whole eight are cut. The age is then guessed at by the wearing 
down of these teeth until the calf is eight months old, when they be° 
gin to become narrower and smaller. At eight months the two centre 
teeth are smaller than the rest; and from that time until eighteen 
months the others gradually diminish, until the w r hole are very con- 
siderably lessened in size and stand apart from each other. 

At two years old the two middle teeth are pushed out, and suc- 
ceeded by two permanent ones ; at three there are four permanent 
teeth ; six at four years ; and all the eight at five, when the animal 



INTRODUCTION. 21 

is said to be full-mouthed ; but he i3 not actually so until six years 
old, when all the eight are level. 

A good judge of cattle will generally determine the age with con- 
siderable accuracy for many years after that. From six to nine he 
will be guided by the wearing down of the teeth, and after that by 
the diminution in their bulk, as in the milk teeth. At nine the two 
middle fore teeth are evidently smaller and narrower than the rest; 
at ten the two next are so ; and so on until twelve, when, as in the 
steer of two years old, the teeth again begin to stand singularly apart 
from each other. 

Age by the Horns. — The surface of the horn continues nearly smooth 
until the expiration of the second year of the animal's life, when a 
wrinkle or circle of thicker horn begins to be formed around the base. 
This is fully completed in a twelvemonth, and another ring then 
begins to appear, so that if the perfect rings or circles are counted, 
and two added to them, the age of the beast is supposed to be ascer- 
tained. These rings, however, are not always clear and distinct, and 
it is very easy to remove one or two of them with a rasp, at least to 
the unpractised eye, when the animal begins to be unmarketably old. 
In addition to this a well-known fact should be stated, that if a heifer 
takes the bull at about two years old, the first ring is formed a twelve- 
month before its usual time, and, consequently, she would always 
appear to be, reckoning by her horns, a twelvemonth older than she 
really is. 

After all, the age, as denoted by the horn, can only be calculated 
in the cow : these rings do not begin to appear in the ox or bull until 
the animal is five years old, and then they are frequently too con- 
fused to be accurately counted. 

Young Cattle are, for the most part, best understood by the follow- 
ing names : — The Bull, while sucking, is called a Bull-Calf; and 
from one to two years old a Stirk or a Yearling Bull ; every year after- 
wards he is called a Bull of three, four, five, and six years old, be- 
yond which period he becomes aged. A young castrated male, after 
the first year, is called a Slot-Calf ox Slirk-Stot, and then a Steer.- at 
four years old he receives the name of a Bullock. A female is at first 
called a Quey-Calf, and then a Heifer until the age of four years : she 
afterwards takes the name of a Cow, which is retained as long as she 
lives. 

The Neck of the ox is comparatively shorter than in the horse. It 
consists of seven bones, each of which, although widened, is short- 
ened and roughened, for the accumulation of more flesh and fat. 

The Chest is the large bony cavity containing and defending from 
injury the heart and lungs. It is formed of the thirteen rack bones 
of the back, thirteen ribs on each side, and the breast-bone below 
and before. The ribs are so articulated with the spine as to allow 
of some little motion in respiration. It is of much importance that 
the chest should be wide and full, and at the same time deep in the 
girth, otherwise there will not be sufficient space without for the 



22 INTRODUCTION. 

attachment of flesh, or room within for the heart and lungs to play. 
It is very desirable that the chest shall not be drawn up immediately 
behind the elbow. The accumulation of fleshy and fatty substance 
under the chest, and projecting before it, and which is called the 
brisket, is also an important point — is an earnest of a propensity to 
accumulate flesh and fat everywhere. 

Breadth across the loins is a valuable conformation, and more par- 
ticularly length in the quarters, leaving space for plenty of muscle 
and fat being put on these places, where the meat is of the finest 
grain and fetches the highest price. 

The Fore Legs.— The Shoulder Blade is a broad, flat, and triangu- 
lar-shaped bone, situated on the outside of the fore ribs. It is com- 
paratively larger and more upright in the ox than in the horse. It is, 
however, a fault when the shoulders are too heavy; for there is then 
generally a deficiency about the choice parts. 

The Shoulder Bone is a short and very strong bone extending from 
the cup of the shoulder blade to the fore arm. 

The Leg Bone, or Fore Arm, is situated between the shoulder bone 
and knee, and it is the longest bone of the fore extremities. At the 
upper and back part of it is the process called the elbow. The fore 
arm should be large and muscular, and regularly tapering towards 
the knee. 

The Knee consists of two rows of small bones, forming a compound 
joint of considerable strength, and allowing likewise of extensive 
motion. 

The Fore Leg, or Shank, reaches from the knee to the upper pastern 
bones. It is of much consequence that it should be clean, fine, short, 
and small. 

The leg is divided at the bottom of the shank-bone, and there are 
two sets of pasterns, and two hoofs, to each leg. The pasterns should 
be small, and not too long : the feet, especially in working oxen, 
should point straight forward, and should be sound ; and they should 
not be too close to each other, for this would indicate a narrow chest, 
that would be unfavourable to speedy fattening. 

The Hind Legs. — The Thigh Bone is a large and rather short bone, 
extending from the cup-like cavity of the hip-bone to the stifle. It is 
inclined obliquely forwards, and its lower end articulates with the 
leg bone at the stifle. This part constitutes the quarters, which should 
be deep and large. The longer the thigh bone is, compared with those 
below it, the better; indeed, it is of advantage that the flesh should 
extend down even to the hocks. 

The Leg Bone reaches from the stifle to the hock, inclining ob- 
liquely backwards. 

The Hock is a compound joint, being, like the knee of the fore ex- 
tremities, composed of two rows of small bones. The hocks naturally 
approach each other much nearer in the ox than in the horse, and 
the hind legs diverge from each other below the hock, and stand 
considerably apart. In some cattle this is carried to such an extent 



INTRODUCTION. 23 

as to become a great deformity — it indicates weakness and unthrifti- 
ness. 

It will be unnecessary to describe the remaining bones of the hind 
leg and foot, as they closely resemble those of the fore leg, and have 
also the same names. 

The Skin. — The hide or skin consists of three layers ; the first and 
outermost called the scarf skin, the central mucous substance, and the 
innermost or true skin. 

The Scarf Skin is the outermost layer. It is thicker on some parts 
than on others, as on the back and legs, and, being insensible, it de- 
fends the true skin from much injury. The scarf skin is separated 
from the parts beneath in the act of blistering. 

The Mucous Substance is thin, delicate, and soft, resembling in 
texture fine net-work. It is this that gives colour to the skin in the 
human subject; but it is precisely of the same hue in all oxen, what- 
ever be the colour of the hair. It adheres more firmly to the scarf 
skin than to the true skin, and separates with it, when the hide is 
prepared by the tanners. 

The True Skin is a thick, dense, and elastic substance, and is that 
from which leather is made. 

The Hair. — The skin is covered with hair, which is not only an 
ornament to the beast, but tends to keep the body warm. The hairs 
arise from bulbous extremities in the skin, and receive their nourish- 
ment from these roots. The feeling of the skin, and the appearance 
of the hair, should be carefully observed. A softness and suppleness 
of the skin, and a kind of glossiness in the coat, not only indicate 
present health, but a disposition to thrive ; while a hard dry skin, 
clinging to the ribs, and a coat staring in every direction, show that 
there is something wrong in the constitution, and that it will belabour 
in vain to attempt to fatten such a beast. The eyelashes and the hair 
within the ears seem principally designed to protect those parts from 
insects, moisture, or cold. The hairs at the end of the tail are longer 
than those of the rest of the body, in order the better to drive insects 
away from the skin. 

Immediately under the skin is the fleshy panicle, or rhine. It is a 
thin muscle, extending over the whole of the trunk, and partly down 
the extremities. It is well supplied with* nerves, and capable of very 
extensive motion ; and its chief use is to corrugate the skin for the 
purpose of shaking oil flies, or anything that may annoy the animal. 

The Fat. — On removing the hide and fleshy panicle, the fat comes 
into view, which is sometimes in considerable quantity, particularly 
on the rump, loins, and ribs. There are also layers of it, in beasts 
in good condition, not only between the muscles, but the fibres of the 
same muscle, giving a peculiar marbled appearance to the flesh. 

Within the belly the kidneys are chiefly surrounded with it; the 
omentum, or caul, contains a large quantity of it ; and there is, also, 
a great deal about the intestines. It guards many parts that would 
be injured by pressure : it fills up a variety of interstices, and forms 



24 INTRODUCTION. 

a reservoir of nutritive matter for the support of the animal under any 
accidental want of nourishment. 

Connected with the fat is the cellular membrane, formed likewise 
of membranous cells, but which communicate with each other through 
the whole of the body. There is sufficient but disgusting proof of 
this in the blowing up of the calf just killed. The crackling heard 
when the skin of cattle labouring under inflammatory fever is pressed 
upon, is another proof, for the gas which was produced by the com- 
mencement of putrefaction is forced into the neighbouring cells. 

The cellular membrane is the connecting medium between almost 
all the component parts of the frame. 

The Muscles. — The muscles are accumulations of fibres or cords, 
running parallel to each other, and bound together by cellular mem- 
brane, and by the tightening or contraction of which the various parts 
of the body are moved. They arise from some fixed point, and are 
inserted either by a diminution of their substance, or in the form of a 
tendon, into a bone or part that is movable. Nervous fibrils are sent 
to all these muscles from the spinal cord, by the influence of which 
they contract or shorten, and the bone or movable part into which the 
tendon is inserted is acted upon; and if both the parts from which 
they arise, and into which they are inserted, are movable, both change 
their place. 

There are other muscles, as those of the heart and the intestines, 
which are moved by nervous influence not arising from the spinal 
cord and the brain, and not under the influence, of the will. It is 
proper that the powers of circulation and digestion should be perfectly 
independent of the will. The sources whence these powers are de- 
rived will be presently spoken of. 

The Brain. — The brain is a pulpy substance contained in the cavity 
of the skull. By means of the spinal cord (which is a continuation 
of its substance), and the nerves which proceed from the spinal cord, 
it holds correspondence with the whole frame, imparting sensibility 
everywhere, and giving motion to every part that is capable of volun- 
tary action. 

The five senses, viz., vision, hearing, feeling, lasting, and smelling, 
so necessary to the animal's existence and well-being, are all situated 
in the head, and not far distant from the brain. The organs of these 
senses are the eyes, ears, lips, tongue, and the internal parts of the 
nose. These have nerves sent to them from the brain, by which the 
impressions made upon them by external objects are immediately 
communicated to that important organ, and the animal is rendered 
conscious of surrounding objects, and their forms and qualities. 

Nine pairs of nerves arise from the base of the brain, and proceed, 
through holes in the skull, to the face and head principally; but some 
of them wander farther, for the purposes of feeling and motion. The 
jirst pair are the nerves of smelling; they pursue a short course to 
the nose. The second pair go to the eyes, and are the nerves of vision : 
the third and fourth pairs are distributed to the muscles that moVp 



INTRODUCTION. 25 

the globe of the eye. The fifth pair are very extensive nerves : they 
divide into three separate branches, which ramify into numerous fila- 
ments or twigs, and are distributed over the whole of the face, and in 
some degree give the various muscles the power of motion, but more 
particularly confer on the parts to which they go the faculty of feel- 
ing. The sixth pair go to the muscles of the eye. One division of 
the seventh pair is distributed over the internal parts of the ear, and 
on it depends the sense of hearing : the other portion is that from 
which the muscles of the face mainly derive their power of motion. 
The eighth pair are principally distributed over the organs contained 
in the chest and belly : they give the power of motion, but motion 
altogether independent of the will ; and they have nothing to do with 
sensation. The ninth pair go to the tongue, and give it the faculty 
of taste. 

These nine pairs of nerves proceeding in regular succession from 
the brain, may be readily seen by gradually raising that organ from 
the fore part of the cavity of the skull. 

The Spinal Marrow. — When the brain passes out through the large 
opening at the back part of the skull into the canal of the spine, it is 
called the spinal cord or marrow. It extends through the whole length 
of the spine, and gives origin to numerous nerves, which pass through 
notches formed between the junction of each of the bones, and are 
distributed over the whole of the exterior and to some of the internal 
organs of the body. They convey to the whole machine the power 
of feeling and of moving. 

The Organs of Circulation. — Every part of the body is supplied, 
with blood by means of the heart and the vessels arising from it; and 
the regular course in which it flows from the heart and back to it 
again is denominated the circulation of the blood. 

The Heart is situated about the middle of the chest, rather inclining 
to the left side, and rests upon the breast-bone. 

It may be considered as double; and it consists of two cavities on 
either side. The upper one, on the right side, the auricle, so called 
from its supposed resemblance to a dog's ear, receives the blood 
which has circulated through the frame, and pours it into the lower 
one, the ventricle. As soon as that is filled, it contracts upon its 
contents ; and, as it closes, a membrane or valve rises, which pre- 
vents the return of the blood into the auricle, and forces it into vessels 
that carry it into the lungs, where it undergoes that purification which 
is necessary to sustain the life of the animal. Having been thus 
purified, it is returned to the heart, and enters the left auricle ; thence 
it is poured into the left ventricle, and, that contracting, and a similar 
membrane or valve rising, to prevent its flowing back into the auricle, 
it is sent into the main trunk of the arteries, and thus distributed 
over the whole of the frame. 

The blood flows through the arteries by the force impressed upon 
it by the heart. This is felt in the pulsations of the arteries, which 
correspond with the contractions of the heart, and indicate not only 
3 



26 INTRODUCTION. 

the number but the nature of these contractions, whetheT propelling 
a greater or smaller quantity of blood. By the number and the force 
of the pulsations the degree of fever is indicated with considerable 
certainty. The heat of the mouth, and of the base of the horns, will 
be important guides; but a much safer one, and more clearly ascer- 
taining the extent and the nature of the fever, is the action of the 
heart faithfully represented by the pulse. Wherever the finger can 
be placed on an artery that is not too thickly covered by cellular 
membrane or fat, and that has some firm substance beneath, the 
pulse may be felt; but most conveniently so where, at the back part 
of the lower jaw, the artery comes from the channel between the 
jaws, and passes over the edge of the jaw-bone, to ramify on the 
face. 

The natural pulse of the full-grown ox varies from 50 to 55 beats 
in a minute, but is quicker in milch cows than in oxen, and particu- 
larly towards the period of parturition. A pulse much quicker than 
that here stated denotes fever or inflammation; whilst one much 
slower indicates sluggishness of the circulation, or debility. 

There are other circumstances, however, to be taken into the ac- 
count, — as the force or the weakness of the heart's action, — strong 
and bounding at the beginning of inflammatory fever, and weak and 
scarcely to be felt when that fever is assuming a putrid form. The 
regularity or irregularity of the pulse is also an important considera- 
tion as characterising the kind of irritability under which the heart 
labours. They who have to do with cattle will find it of immense 
advantage to study the pulse, and especially in reference to the pro- 
priety of bleeding; for a large bleeding will, in some cases, cut the 
disease short at once, while at other times it would destroy the re- 
maining strength of the animal, and ensure and hasten its death. 

The blood flows through the arteries principally by the impulsive 
power of the heart. The arteries, however, possess a controlling in- 
fluence independent of the heart, and can, under circumstances of 
necessity or disease, supply a deficiency of action in the heart, or 
neutralize its too violent efforts. 

At the termination of the arteries, and branching from them at every 
point of their course, are other vessels as small as a hair, or a thou- 
sand times smaller, through which the blood must find its way. 
These are the capillaries, and in them, or in the glands into which 
they enter, or which they compose, all the important offices of secre- 
tion and nutrition are performed. These offices being discharged, 
and the various portions of the frame being built up, the blood has 
materially changed. From being of a scarlet colour it has become 
black — from being capable of supporting life it is poisonous — from 
arterial it is changed to venous — and, these capillary vessels running 
into each other and gradually enlarging, we begin to recognise the 
veins. The veins commence where the arteries terminate, and by 
them the black blood is collected, and carried back to the heart, to be 
thence pumped into the lungs, for the purpose of re-purification. 



INTRODUCTION. 27 

The blood traverses the veins also by the power of the heart, but 
exerted in a different way. When the ventricle of the heart, after 
having contracted upon its contents, opens again, it forms a vacuum 
into which the neighbouring blood flows by a mechanical principle, 
viz. the pressure of the atmosphere. The fire-engine is supplied with 
water from the reservoir by the same principle, although the pipe 
through which it flows may be a quarter of a mile in length. Besides 
this, where there are muscles by the action of which the vein may 
be compressed, provision is made that the flow of blood shall be 
assisted and not retarded ; for there are numerous membranous valves, 
which open in the natural direction of the current, and would close 
if the current were to take a retrograde course. All the veins con- 
nected with the muscles are abundantly supplied with such valves, 
so that, by every contraction of the muscle, or motion of the limb, 
the blood is forced on more rapidly in its natural course, and the 
possibility of retrograding is prevented. This accounts for the in- 
creased flow of blood on exercise, and the greater rapidity with which 
the blood escapes in venesection, when the jaw of the ox is moved 
by introducing the finger into the mouth. 

The Organs of Respiration. — Respiration is so absolutely essential 
to the life of quadrupeds, that, if it is suspended for a few minutes, 
the animal dies suffocated. The act of respiration is the alternate 
reception and expulsion of air into and from the lungs, and, during 
which, the blood traverses a set of vessels in the lungs, where it is 
exposed to the action of this air, and changed by it, and rendered 
capable of supporting animal life. The air which is to effect a salu- 
tary change in the blood is received partly through the mouth, but 
mostly through the nostril in cattle, and enters 

The Windpipe, a long tube situated in the fore part of the neck, 
and leading from the back of the mouth to the lungs. On the top of 
it is a triangular cartilaginous substance, which permits the passage 
of the air either way, but closes the mouth of the windpipe when the 
animal swallows its food, and so prevents any substance from getting 
into this tube, and annoying, or perhaps destroying, the beast. 

The windpipe consists of numerous circular rings formed of dense 
cartilage, and these are connected together by a strong ligamentous 
substance which is very elastic : this peculiar structure not only 
renders the windpipe very flexible, but keeps it constantly open. 
The whole passage is lubricated with a viscid fluid, secreted from 
the membrane lining its internal surface. 

Immediately before it arrives at the lungs, the windpipe divides 
into two distinct tubes, and these, as soon as they enter into the 
lungs, subdivide until they are too minute to be traced by the naked 
eye, and at length terminate in an innumerable series of minute cells. 
Upon the membrane lining these cells the vessels which have con- 
veyed the venous blood to the lungs ramify, and there is nothing 
interposed between the air and the blood but the membrane forming 
the cells, and the thin covering of the blood-vessels. 



28 INTRODUCTION. 

The air is introduced into these cells in the following manner :— 
The chest and the helly are divided from each other by a very strong 
muscular expansion called the diaphragm, or midriff, or skirt. In its 
natural state it is of an arched form, and bulges considerably into the 
chest. When it is excited to action, it contracts ; it becomes straighter ; 
the bulging into the chest is diminished, and the cavity of the chest 
proportionally increased ; and if, at the same time, the muscles which 
are between each rib, and which have the power to elevate or depress 
the ribs, likewise act and raise them, the cavity becomes yet more 
enlarged ; and the consequence of this necessarily is, that there would, 
if possible, be a vacuum between the lungs and the walls of the chest. 
To prevent this, or, more properly speaking, forced by the inequality 
of atmospheric pressure thus produced, air rushes into the nose, passes 
down the windpipe, inflates and fills up the lungs, and is thus brought 
into contact with the blood. After a short time the diaphragm and 
the muscles of the ribs cease to act, and the former begins to bulge 
again into the chest, and the latter to fall, and the cavity of the chest 
is contracted, and the lungs are squeezed into their former bulk, and 
the air which had entered is pressed out again. 

A most important process, however, has been performed during 
this entrance and expulsion of the air. Both the air and the blood 
have been changed : the air has become poisonous, and the blood has 
become capable of supporting life. A great quantity of what used to 
be termed pure air, oxygen, is taken from that which was inhaled ; a 
portion of it unites with the poison of the blood — the carbon — and 
forms carbonic acid gas — fixed air — and which is expelled when 
the air is returned in the act of expiration ; while another portion of 
it enters into the composition of the blood, and either remains there 
unchanged, or becomes combined with some of the multifarious sub- 
stances that make up the blood. The air has taken carbon from the 
blood, and communicated oxygen to it. 

This change, both of the air and the blood, is not so marked in the 
ox as in most other animals. He does not seem to have so much 
poison to get rid of, nor needs he to steal so much vital air from the 
atmosphere, and therefore the cow-house, however close, is seldom 
offensive. The breath of the cow is even pleasant, and consumptive 
persons have fancied that they have derived benefit from inhaling it. 

The inside of the chest, and of the diaphragm, and also the whole 
external surface of the lungs, are covered by a smooth membrane 
called the pleura, which secretes a serous fluid, which in its natural 
quantity preserves the surfaces moist, and prevents friction, but in 
undue and unhealthy quantity constitutes dropsy of the chest. 

The Organs of Digestion. — The food received by all animals 
affords, by the process of digestion, a nutritious fluid of a milky co- 
lour, called chyle ; which is absorbed into the system, and soon 
enters the circulating mass of blood, and becomes itself converted 
into blood : thereby repairing the waste that this fluid suffers in 
nourishing the body, and also supplying the materials for all the 



INTRODUCTION. 29 

strangely various secretions. The organs of digestion in neat cattle 
are more complicated than in the horse, or in man ; for the latter have 
only one stomach, but these have four stomachs. This, probably, 
renders them more liable, particularly in their present domesticated 
state, to diseases o( the digestive organs. 

The gullet is a thick fleshy canal that receives the food from the 
mouth, in its passage into the first stomach, and having afterwards 
returned it to the mouth for the purpose of re-mastication, once more 
receives it, and conveys it into a canal at its base. 

The grass is cropped, and having been slightly chewed, is covered 
by the mucus of the mouth, and formed by the tongue into a kind of 
pellet that can be swallowed. It then passes down the gullet, and 
arrives at this canal. If this canal were pursued it would lead on to 
the many plies, or third stomach ; but its floor is curiously constructed. 
It is formed of two rounded muscular bands, which may be held to- 
gether or divided — which may form a tube through which a liquid 
will scarcely penetrate, and so carry on the food to the third stomach, 
or which may divide and suiter it to fall through into the rumen or 
paunch, of the roof of which, and also of the reticulum, or second 
stomach, these bands form a part. 

The pellet of food passes down, and partly by its own weight, and 
assisted also by the contraction of the muscles of the gullet, and its 
course also in some measure depending on the pleasure of the animal, 
it breaks through the floor and enters into the paunch ; and there it 
remains, and pellet after pellet descends until the paunch is nearly or 
quite filled. The animal then lies comfortably down. The food has 
all this time been macerating in the paunch, the inner membrane of 
which is lined with numerous little prominences or capillary glands, 
that secrete an alkaline fluid, which prevents or limits the process of 
fermentation, when fresh succulent vegetables are exposed to the 
united influence of warmth and moisture. While this has been going 
forward, the muscles which compose one of the coats of the paunch 
have been constantly acting, and the food has travelled through the 
various compartments of the stomach, and every portion of it has 
been exposed to the influence of this fluid ; and finally, that which 
•was swallowed first, or which had been in the stomach many an hour 
before, and which has been considerably softened, and duly prepared, 
is ready to present itself first to be returned. 

By a slightly convulsive act, a portion sufficient to form a pellet 
of the proper size to be returned passes on from the paunch into the 
second stomach, which is connected with the first under the floor of 
the canal. This stomach is possessed of a strongly muscular coat, 
and it contracts immediately on this mass, presses out the fluid which 
it contains, and sends it alono- the canal through the third into the 
fourth stomach ; at the same time it forms the more solid part into 
a proper shape to be returned, and covers it with a mucous fluid, 
provided by numerous little glands in the honeycomb-cells, and 
which renders its return through the gullet more easy. 
3* 



SO INTRODUCTION. 

By another slight convulsive effort of the animal the pellet is made 
to break through the floor of the canal, and is carried to the base of 
the gullet, where it is embraced by the spiral muscles of that tube, 
and returned to the mouth ; or it may be more correctly said that the 
same effort which sends the prepared pellet from the second stomach 
into the gullet, to be re-chewed, forces a fresh portion from the paunch 
into the second stomach. The animal now ruminates at his leisure, 
and the pellet having been perfectly broken down by the grinding 
action of the teeth, and softened by an additional secretion from the 
glands of the mouth, is almost a semi-fluid mass ; and, when it is 
again swallowed, it either has not sufficient solidity to force itself 
through the floor of the canal, or the beast does not choose that it 
shall, and it passes on, over the roof of the paunch and the honey- 
comb, and enters into the third stomach or manyplies. 

A very important hint here suggests itself with regard to medicines, 
and which has not been sufficiently attended to by the cow-leech or 
the veterinary surgeon. We may, to a very great extent, send medi- 
cine into what stomach we please. We may give it in a ball, and it 
will fall into the paunch, and thence go the round of all the stomachs ; 
or it may be exhibited in a fluid form, and gently poured down, and 
the greater part of it passed at once into the third and fourth stomachs. 
That which is meant to have a speedy action on the constitution or 
the disease should be given in a fluid form. That also which is par- 
ticularly disagreeable should be thus given, otherwise it will enter 
the paunch, and be returned again in the process of rumination, and 
disgust the animal, and, perhaps, cause rumination to cease at once. 
This would always be a dangerous thing, for the food retained in the 
paunch would soon begin to ferment, and become a new source of 
irritation and disease.* 

The third stomach, called the manyplns or manyplies, or many- 
leaves, is, at its base, a continuation of the canal already referred to, 
and through which fluid food would pass at once into the fourth sto- 
mach ; but there are suspended from its roof numerous curious leaves, 
floating loose in the canal, furnished at the edges with numerous little 
hooks, which intercept and take up everything that may have escaped 
the action of the teeth, and continues to retain a solid form. The 
general surface of these leaves is studded with little hard prominences 
on either side, and, these rubbing against each other, the hardest food 
is gradually reduced to a fit state for digestion. This being accomplish- 
ed, the food arrives at last at the fourth or true digestive stomach — a 
long pouch or bag, more abundantly supplied than any of the others 

* It has, however, been ascertained by experiment, that if a quantity of liquid, 
such as linseed tea, be given to a beast just before it is slaughtered, the greater por- 
tion will be found in the rumen. The fluids, however, do not require to be ruminated, 
and therefore they are squeezed out by the action of the second stomach, and thus 
pass onwards to the third and fourth stomachs, whilst the solid food is returned to 
the mouth and re-masticated. Even after this all the ruminated food does not ne- 
cessarily pass into the third stornach, but the harder portion again enters the rumen, 
and is again ruminated. 



INTRODUCTION. 31 

with blood-vessels, and secreting- the gastric juice — the principal 
agent in digestion, and by means of which the food is converted into 
a uniform half fluid mass, called chyme. 

From the presence of this gastric juice, the fourth stomach has the 
property of curdling milk. The dried stomach or maw of calves is 
called rennet. It will be seen, as we go on, that this property of 
curdling milk is, in some states of the stomach or the milk, an occa- 
sional source of disease. 

The food, being thus prepared, passes through the ^.Tc-r orifice of 
the stomach into the intestines ; and these are of enormous length, in 
order that every particle of nutriment may be extracted. They are 
twent}M.\vo times the length of the body of the ox. 

The food has not passed far into the first intestine ere it undergoes 
a new change. The secretions from the liver and the pancreas — the 
bile and the pancreatic juice — mingle with the food ; and at the same 
time, and possibly influenced by these, the mass which has passed 
the stomach begins to separate into two parts, the one a white matter, 
constituting the nutritive portion, and called the chyle — the other, 
that which is afterwards to be expelled from the system. The sepa- 
ration is at first but partial : more and more nutritive matter is ex- 
tracted as the mass rolls on, and, at length, nothing that is useful 
remains. 

This nutritive matter, the chyle, is not suffered to pass far along 
the intestinal canal, but is taken up or absorbed by numerous minute 
vessels that open on the inside of the bowels, and is conveyed by 
them into the circulation, where it is mixed with the blood, and con- 
verted into blood, and prepared for building up the various portions 
of the frame. All along the small intestines, — the duodenum, jejunum, 
and ileum, — this separation continues to be made, and these vessels 
at length convey away all the useful portion of the food. 

The residue, having arrived at the larger intestines, which now 
succeed, and containing no longer anything that can be thus changed 
into chyle, these vessels, the lacteals, are no longer found in cattle ; 
but nevertheless there are other vessels, absorbents, which take up the 
fluid parts of the fasces, and extract from them what may ultimately 
contribute to nutriment. It is on this account that, when an animal 
is unable to eat, we can support him for a considerable period by 
means of nutritive fluids injected into the bowels, and which can 
only reach to the large intestines. 

In most herbiverous animals there is a provision made by a curious 
cell-like structure of the colon and ccecum, (the most considerable of 
the large intestines), for the retention of the residue of the food in 
them ; but, in the ox and other ruminants, the food is so thoroughly 
prepared by the complicated mechanism of the four stomachs, and 
the course of the small intestines is so lengthened, that this structure 
of the colon and coecum is not needed, and they are neither of extra- 
ordinary size nor formed into cells. 



32 INTRODUCTION. 

All nutriment of every kind being extracted, and the residue 
having reached the last intestine, the rectum, it is hurried on to be 
expelled. 

Several diseases to which the intestines of cattle are exposed 
having reference to, or being seated in, different coats or membranes 
of these vessels, it will be necessary to speak briefly of them. In 
the first place, they are all wrapped up in a very thin membrane or 
bag, vet one that possesses considerable strength, called the perito- 
neum. Il secretes a serous fluid, and thus prevents friction in the 
natural motion of the bowels over or among each other ; and, encir- 
cling them all, it retain* each pretty much in its place, and restrains 
too extensive or dangerous motion. The outer coat of the intestines 
is composed of a reflection or expansion of this membrane, and is 
liable to a peculiar inflammation. The second coat is muscular, and 
is composed of a double layer of fibres, by the action of which the 
food is conveyed or pressed along the canal, and which is called the 
peristaltic motion. The inner coat is the mucous one, so called from 
the jelly-like substance by which it is covered ; called also the villous 
coat, from its velvet-like construction. It is thickly set with innu- 
merable glands pouring out this mucus, and it is the seat of inflam- 
mation in over-purging. 

The Mesentery, or that membrane by which the intestines are en- 
folded from beginning to end, and through the folds of which the 
blood-vessels and nerves that supply the intestines, and the veins, 
and the lacteals pass, is only a duplicature of the peritoneum. In 
different parts of the mesentery, various glandular bodies are seen : 
they are the mesenteric glands, the precise use of which is not known, 
except that they are connected with the passage of the chyle. The 
enlargement or obstruction of them is sometimes attended with very 
serious disease, and even with death. The omentum, or caul, is also 
a portion of the peritoneum. The use of it has never been satisfacto- 
rily explained. 

The Liver is a large gland, of a dark-red colour, situated in the 
belly on the right side, and secreting a bitter fluid named bile, or gall. 
It receives the blood that returns from all the contents of the belly, 
and which is probably so loaded with carbon that it could not all be 
discharged by the lungs ; the quantity of atmospheric air that can be 
introduced into the lungs in the act of breathing not containing suffi- 
cient oxygen for the purpose. The blood is, therefore, sent into the 
liver, where it undergoes a process of purification to a certain extent. 
This inflammable matter, the carbon, is separated in the form of bile ; 
and wiien that is conveyed into the bowels, in order that it may be 
expelled, it is rendered exceedingly useful there, either by separating 
the chyle, or quickening the passage of the food, or both. The yellows 
in cattle is caused either by too great an increase of bile, or by ob- 
struction of its passage into the intestines. In the first case the sur- 
plus quantity is taken up by the absorbents, and enters into the 
circulation and tinges the blood yellow ; and in the other case, accu- 



INTRODUCTION. 33 

mulating in the liver, or the obstructed ducts, it is at length taken up 
by the vessels of those parts, and is carried over the frame. 

The bile is received into a kind of reservoir called the gall-bladder, 
in which it is stored up for use : at the same time it is probably im- 
proved in activity by the absorption of some of the fluid parts of it. 

The pancreas, or sweetbread, is a large gland, of a whitish colour, 
adhering to the upper portion of the first small intestine, and which 
secretes a fluid-like saliva, termed the pancreatic juice, that is poured 
into the intestines, and assists in the process of digestion. Of the 
precise nature, however, of this fluid, or the manner in which diges- 
tion is promoted by it, we have no certain knowledge. 

The spleen, or milt, is a large and oblong substance of a dark pur- 
ple hue, situated upon the paunch, being between it and the midriff. 
Of the office discharged by the spleen we have no satisfactory infor- 
mation. 

The Absorbents. — Every part of the body is continually changing. 
The worn-out portions are dissolved, and taken up by the absorbent 
vessels, and carried, like the chyle, into the circulation. They mingle 
with and form part of the blood, and are converted again into nutritive 
matter, or expelled by means of the liver, or in some other way. 
These absorbents, or, as they are sometimes called, lymphatics, are 
small transparent, elastic tubes, opening upon every surface, and 
every portion of the body, external and internal. 

The trunks of the absorbents are arranged into two systems, one 
of which lies near the surface of the body, and the other is more 
deeply seated ; and both follow the course of the neighbouring veins. 
They have valves like the veins, and pour their contents into the 
circulation at the same point with the veins. 

The lymphatic glands form a prominent part of the absorbent sys- 
tem. They answer some valuable purpose, for every absorbent, in 
performing its course, passes through one or more of these glands. 
They are seen in the mesentery when the animal is opened, and they 
can be plainly felt in the neck and under the jaw. 

The Blood. — The blood is incessantly circulating in the heart and 
arteries and veins., and through every part of the body, supplying 
materials for its nourishment and growth, and for the various secre- 
tions. The different parts of the system are constantly receiving and 
appropriating to themselves those elements of the blood which are 
proper to supply the waste they sustain from the necessary actions 
of life ; consequently the health and vigour of the body require a 
new, daily, and liberal supply of fresh blood. That supply is in some 
measure derived from the absorbent vessels generally, but chiefly 
from the chyle, which is separated from the food in the process of 
digestion. 

Blood, received into a vessel in the act of bleeding, soon separates 
into two parts ; one of which is fluid, and called serum, the other 
solid, and called red clot, or cake, or crassamentum. 

Serum is the watery part of the blood, and surrounds the red clot. 



34 INTRODUCTION. 

When it is heated to 160 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, it 
coagulates like the white of an egg ; but it has no appearance of be- 
ing organised. 

Red Clot, or Crassamentum, coagulates spontaneously ; and is found 
to consist of two parts, namely, a fibrous substance called coagulable 
lymph and resembling very closely the muscular fibres, and a great 
number of extremely small red globules, which give colour to the 
blood. 

Secretion. — There are separated from the general mass of blood, 
by certain organs denominated glands, different kinds of fluids, sub- 
servient to various purposes ; and the process by which they are 
formed is termed secretion. 

The glands on the internal coat of the stomach secrete the gastric 
juice, the liver secretes the bile, and the saliva is derived from the 
glands of the mouth. In some cases it seems to be a mere filtration 
or separation of certain substances from the blood : in others it is the 
formation of a new substance that did not previously exist there. 
With regard to the structure of the glands, there is considerable ob- 
scurity. They consist of a great number of small arteries which 
convey the blood to be operated upon, and of corresponding minute 
veins that return the blood when the operation is complete ; but of 
the intermediate substances or sets of vessels, and of the nature of 
the action which is going forward in them, we are perfectly ignorant. 

The secretions are exceedingly numerous, very different in their 
character, and all subservient to some useful purpose. The most 
important secretion connected with the cow is that of milk, which is 
formed in that large and complicated gland, the udder, to which so 
many blood-vessels are directed. 

The functions of the glands are much affected by disease. The 
secretion is sometimes suspended. In dropping after calving, and in 
constipation, the secretions of the udder and the bowels partially or 
entirely cease. At other times the fluids which they afford are con- 
siderably increased. In purging, the glandular follicles of the bowels 
pour out a great quantity of aqueous fluid. Occasionally the character 
of the secretion is changed. The discharge of mucus from the nose, 
under some diseases, and the fluid which escapes from the bowels in 
dysentery, are very acrid and irritating. 

Perspiration. — A fluid is continually passing off from the surface 
of the body in the form of an invisible, vapour ; and when, from exer- 
cise or other causes, the quantity is increased, it becomes visible like 
a thick stream, and collects upon the skin and wets the hair, or falls 
in drops. This is the perspiration or sweat. It is necessary to health 
that a considerable quantity of fluid should escape in this way. 
When, from sudden exposure to cold, this discharge from the skin is 
suppressed, either generally, or in a particular part, rheumatism, or 
hoose, or catarrh, is the result. Various states of the constitution, 
and various diseases, will also materially influence the discharge. A 
cessation of it is by turns the consequence and the cause of disease. 



INTRODUCTION. 35 

When the coat stares, it is owing to the scales of the outer skin be- 
coming - dry from the stoppage of perspiration, and turning- the hair in 
different ways : when the coat is smooth and glossy, it is caused by 
the perspiration rendering the skin moist and supple, and thus per- 
mitting the hair to take its natural direction. We judge with consi- 
derable accuracy of the health of the animal by the appearance of the 
coat, because in health the perspiration flows naturally, and in dis- 
ease it is unduly increased, or oftener suspended. 

The Organs of Urine. — The kidneys are two in number, of an oblong 
shape, situated in the loins on each side of the spine, and imbedded 
in fat. They are of a red colour, and divided externally into between 
twenty and thirty distinct lobes, or portions. 

A great quantity of blood is continually circulating through them, 
and they, being glandular bodies, separate from it a fluid, called urine. 
The peculiar ingredient of the urine, urea, contains a great quantity 
of a poisonous substance or gas, called nitrogen. It would therefore 
seem that the kidney is the organ by which any dangerous excess of 
nitrogen in the constitution is removed. Besides the urea, nearly 
twenty different salts and compounds, more or less injurious, have 
been discovered : so that the kidney is a gland of immense import- 
ance in preventing the unhealthy accumulation of these matters. It 
likewise is ready to act instead of any other part of the frame that 
may happen to be diseased or out of order. When the absorbents 
are unable to carry off the fluid received into the stomach, or the 
lungs or the skin refuse to throw off their share of perspirable matter, 
the kidneys supply their place, and by an increased flow of urine 
prevent disease and danger. 

The urine is conveyed from the kidneys into the bladder by two 
canals called the ureters, and it is retained until a sufficient quantity 
is collected to excite that organ to contract, and to expel its contents. 

The Peritoneum and Caul. — The peritoneum is a strong and exten- 
sive membrane, lining the internal surface of the belly, and covering 
all the organs contained therein. It secretes a fluid which keeps the 
surface of the intestines moist, and thus allows free motion between 
them ; yet at the same time enwrapping them on every side, each 
is kept in its proper situation, and strength and support are given to 
the whole. 

The Omentum, or Caul, is a broad and fatty membrane formed from 
the peritoneum, and particularly from those portions of it that are re- 
flected from the paunch. It covers the four stomachs and some of the 
intestines. Its use is probably somewhat similar to that of the peri- 
toneum : it supports the intestines, and it prevents them from being 
injured in the various motions of the body. 

The Uterus and Pregnancy. — Reaching from the external parts of 
generation in the cow, the body of it projecting beyond the bladder, 
and the two prolongations or horns of it floating loose in the belly, is 
the uterus or womb, in which the unborn calf is contained and nou- 
rished. At the extremity of each of the horns of the womb is a small 



36 INTRODUCTION. 

canal or tube, conducting to an oval body of tbe size of an egg, con- 
taining- numerous little vesicles or bladders called ova, or egg's ; and 
the collection of them is denominated the ovaries. At the time of 
conception one of these ova escapes, and slowly descends the tube 
and enters the womb. It is the germ of the future animal, but scarcely 
larger than a pea. Arrived in the womb it floats there for a while, 
and at length becomes attached to some portion of it. When it de- 
scended it was enveloped by two membranes or coats, and two others 
now rapidly form over it from the uterus. They are exceedingly 
vascular, and by means of them, and the vessels proceeding from 
them, not only is nourishment conveyed to the fcetus, but the blood 
which has circulated through its little frame is purified. 

At the fourth week it has attained the size of a mouse, and every 
limb is to be seen nearly perfect, although in miniature. It has eyes, 
although at present it sees not, and a mouth, but no food enters it : 
the lungs perform no office, and the stomach receives no nourish- 
ment ; but the blood of the mother is sufficient for its nutriment and 
its growth. 

In the cow and other ruminant animals there are a vast number of 
red prominences between the membranes, consisting of thousands of 
convolutions and ramifications of blood-vessels : they were designed, 
probably, more completely to purify the blood, and render it more fit 
for the nourishment and rapid growth of the quadrupeds that are des- 
tined to contribute to the food of man. 

In the fourth month the foetal calf is large, but the skin is not 
covered with hair. About the sixth or seventh month the hair has 
spread over it, and at the expiration of nine months the animal is 
sufficiently well formed and strong to change its mode of existence. 
The womb has now attained its greatest degree of distention : it be- 
comes irritated; its muscular fibres begin to contract; labour comes 
on, and, assisted by the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, the calf 
and its membranes are expelled, and the young animal is born. 

As the pelvis, from its horizontal position, may safely be much 
larger in these animals than in the human female, parturition is, 
generally speaking, not dangerous or very painful in the quadruped. 
Difficult labours, however, and false presentations will sometimes 
occur, of which notice will be taken in the proper place. 

The Udder. — The udder is a large glandular organ, destined to 
secrete milk for the nourishment of the young calf. As the produce 
of the cow is confined to one, or at most to two calves at a birth, the 
udder w T ould perhaps have been only double, as in the mare, were it 
not that this animal is intended to yield the greater part of her milk 
for the nourishment of man. The bag is therefore quadruple, or there 
are four distinct partitions of it. 

The udder is made up of numerous minute branches of arteries, 
from the extremities of which the milk is secreted. This secretion is 
always going on. The bag of a milch cow is always gradually filling, 
yet a considerable proportion of that which is given is secreted at the 



INTRODUCTION. 37 

time of milking : for it must be evident to the most careless observer, 
that the udder could not possibly contain one-half of the milk which 
a good dairy cow will sometimes yield. The milk is also given in 
greater or less quantities at the will of the animal. A cow will some- 
times not yield a drop of milk to a stranger calf, while to her own she 
will pour it out in abundance. In this she is perhaps assisted by the 
valves which are placed over the orifice of each teat, in order to pre- 
vent the milk from running out. When the calf is sucking, he is 
seen to push the teat upwards, he then lifts these valves : the dexter- 
ous milk-maid is well acquainted with the method of accomplishing 
the same object. 



NUMBER OF NEAT CATTLE IN EACH STATE, 

ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1840. 

1. Maine 327,255 

2. New Hampshire, 275,562 

3. Massachusetts, 282,574 

4. Rhode Island, 36,891 

5. Connecticut, 238,650 

6. Vermont, 384,341 

7. New York, 1,911,244 

8. New Jersey, 220,202 

9. Pennsylvania, 1,172,665 

10. Delaware, 53,883 

11. Maryland, 225,714 

12. Virginia, 1,024,148 

13. North Carolina, 617,371 

14. South Carolina, 572,608 

15. Georo-ia, 884,414 

16. Alabama, 668,018 

17. Mississippi, 623,197 

18. Louisiana, 381,248 

19. Tennessee 822,851 

20. Kentucky, 787,098 

21. Ohio, 1,217,874 

22. Indiana, 619,980 

23. Illinois, 626,274 

24. Missouri, 433,875 

25. Arkansas, 188,786 

26. Michigan, 185,190 

27. Florida, 118,081 

28. Wisconsin, 30,269 

29. Iowa 38,049 

30. District of Columbia, 3,274 

Total, 14,971,586 

4 




o 

M 

O 

O 

CQ 



12 3 4 56 78 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16171819 



(38) 



EXPLANATIONS OF THE OPPOSITE CUT. 

1. The temporal bone. 

2. The frontal bone, or bone of the forehead. 

3. The orbit of the eye. 

4. The lachrymal bone. 

5. The malar, or cheek bone. 

6. The upper jaw-bone. 

7. The nasal bone, or bone of the nose. 

8. The nippers, found on the lower jaw alone. 

9. The eight true ribs. 

10. The humerus, or lower bone of the shoulder. 

11. The sternum. 

12. The ulna, its upper part forming the elbow. 

13. The ulna. 

14. The radius, or principal bone of the arm. 

15. The small bones of the knee. 

16. The large metacarpal, or shank bone. 

17. The bifurcation at the pasterns, and the two larger pasterns to each foot. 

18. The sessamoid bones. 

19. The bifurcation of the pasterns. 

20. The lower jaw and the grinders. 

21. The vertebrae, or bones of the neck. 

22. The navicular bones. 

23. The two-coffin bones to each foot. 

24. The two smaller pasterns to each foot. 

25. The smaller or splint-bone. 

26. The false ribs, with their cartilages. 

27. The patella, or bone of the knee. 

28. The small bones of the hock. 

29. The metatarsals, or larger bones of the hind leg. 

30. The pasterns and feet. 

31. The small bones of the hock. 

32. The point of the hock. 

33. The tibia, or proper leg-bone. 

34. The thigh-bone. 

35. The bones of the tail. 

^ | The haunch and pelvis. 

38. The sacrum. 

39. The bones of the loins. 

40. The bones of the back. 

41. The ligament of the neck and its attachments. 

42. The scapula, or shoulder-blade. 

43. The bones of the back. 

44. The ligament of the neck. 

45. The dentata. 

46. The atlas. 

47. The occipital bone, deeply depressed below the crest, or ridge of the 

head. 

48. The parietal bone low in the temporal fossa. 

49. The horns, being processes or continuations of the frontal bone. 

(39) 



w 



|MyfM| 



THE DISEASES 



OF 



HOKNED CATTLE. 



CHAPTER I. 

INFLAMMATION. 



Inflammation is the 'most frequent diseased condition to which 
neat cattle are subject. This may be owing to their peculiar organi- 
zation in respect to the four stomachs, in which the food is completely 
prepared and digested, so as to yield all its nutriment. This compli- 
cated apparatus was necessary in the animals that were destined to 
afford us so much liquid nutriment while living, and good fat and 
flesh when dead ; and who must therefore be disposed to an occasional 
redundancy of blood in the system, and consequently to inflamma- 
tion. 

External inflammation is known by the part being swollen, tender, 
and hotter ^ than in its natural state. In garget or downfall of the 
udder, which is an inflammation of one or more quarters of the bag, 
the affected parts are swollen, tender, and hot. 

If this state of the bag is neglected, matter or pus will probably be 
formed. This is one of the consequences of inflammation, or one of 
the methods by which the part, and the constitution generally, are 
relieved, and which is usually denominated the suppurative process. 

Should, however, the downfall be judiciously treated, the swelling 
subsides, and the heat and tenderness gradually vanish : the inflam- 
mation in this case is said to be resolved. This is most to be wished 
for, and should always be attempted in inflammatory complaints. 

In black-leg, a disease frequent in young cattle, the affected part 
loses its sensibility, and becomes dark-coloured, and is said to be 
mortified. It is then speedily separated, or ought to be separated 
from the living portions around. Mortification is usually the result 
of violent inflammation, by which the texture of the part is speedily- 
broken down, and its vitality destroyed. 

(40) 



INFLAMMATION. 41 

External inflammation most frequently proceeds from wounds, or 
bruises, or other accidents to which cattle are liable. These produce 
different degrees of disease, according to the severity of the injury ; 
and when the inflammation runs high, or continues long, it affects 
the whole system, and brings on fever; or, in other words, a certain 
degree of inflammatory action pervades the entire frame. 

External inflammation sometimes results from causes which affect 
the whole system, but the chief mischief of which is determined to 
particular parts, from previous weakness in them, or disposition to 
take on inflammation. This is the case with inflammation of the 
udder of cows, or the joints of young cattle. The whole frame had 
been exposed to cold ; but the udder of the cow that had lately calved 
was very much disposed to inflammation, and the joints of young 
cattle had not acquired their full strength. In inflammatory fever, 
also, the inflammation will settle in particular parts, from causes 
which it is impossible to explain, as in the tongue in blain, and in 
the limbs in quarter evil. 

The swelling of the inflamed part is principally to be ascribed to 
the increased quantity of blood passing through it. Every little vessel 
is distended by the additional fluid it is compelled to carry ; and there 
is likewise a greater deposition of fluid and solid matter in the cellu- 
lar texture of the inflamed part : for every secretory vessel is doing 
increased duty in proportion to the blood with which it is supplied. 

In the minute ramifications of the vessels, the blood is changed 
from arterial to venous ; and it is while this change is effecting that 
animal heat is extricated or produced. In inflammation, a great deal 
more than the natural quantity of blood is passing through these 
vessels : a great deal more is changed from arterial to venous ; and a 
great deal more heat must necessarily be evolved. 

The tenderness is caused by the unnatural distension of the vessels, 
and by their pressure on the neighbouring parts, and also the pressure 
of the natural deposit produced by inflammation. The nerves of sen- 
sibility likewise unite very freely with the nerves of another order 
that supply the capillaries; and when the nerves of the capillaries 
are irritated, those of sensibility will become irritable too, and the 
part will become so tender as not to be touched without extreme pain. 

Internal Inflammation. 

Internal inflammation is characterised by other and often more in-- 
distinct symptoms. We can here seldom ascertain the heat or ten- 
derness or swelling of the part, and can usually only judge of the 
complaint by the effect which it produces on the system. Every in- 
ternal inflammation does, however, soon affect the system. There is 
no inflammation of any important internal part that is not quickly 
accompanied by fever; and that fever and the degree of it are easily 
ascertained, by the heat of the breath and the mouth and the base of 
the horn, by the redness of the eye, and the frequency and hardness 
4* 



42 INFLAMMATION. 

of the pulse, the loss of appetite, and, often, the cessation of rumi- 
nation. 

The symptoms of internal inflammation will be related as the in- 
flammation of each part comes before us. 

Whether inflammation is internal or external, resolution is to be 
attempted, or, in other words, the inflammation is to be subdued. 

When it seizes any important organ, as the brain, lungs, bowels, 
kidneys, eyes, udder, or womb, bleeding is to be immediately had re- 
course to ; and, after bleeding, a purging drink is to be administered : 
sometimes it is necessary to insert a seton in the dew-lap. 

In external inflammation from severe bruises, wounds, and other 
accidents, fomentation with warm water, poultices made of linseed 
meal — when they can be applied — and the purging drink (No. 2), 
give much relief. If external inflammation is considerable, it will 
always be necessary to bleed the beast. 



CHAPTER II. 

BLEEDING, ITS UTILITY AND IN WHAT CASES NECESSARY. 

Bleeding is a most useful and powerful remedy in the cure of in- 
flammatory complaints. It lessens the quantity of blood in the vessels, 
and diminishes nervous power. The following are the chief diseases 
in which bleeding is required : — 

1. Where animals in a thriving state rub themselves until the hair 
comes off, and the spot is covered with a dry scab ; while at the same 
time the eyes appear dull, languid, red, or inflamed, the breath hot, 
and the veins puffed up, and considerably larger than usual. 

2. In all kinds of inflammatory diseases, as of the brain, lungs, 
kidneys, bowels, eyes, womb, bladder, shape, and udder, or in swelling 
of the joints. , 

3. In the disease called blain, and in which bleeding, not only 
general but local, and local far more than general, has the best possi- 
ble effect, the tumefaction usually almost immediately subsiding, and 
the beast speedily recovering. 

4. When the glands or kernels between the jaws, or those of the 
throat, are enlarged, and especially if they are only recently affected, 
immediate recourse should be had to bleeding, for otherwise the lungs 
will probably become diseased, and dangerous or consumptive hoose 
will speedily ensue. 

5. In bruises, hurts, wounds upon the head, strains in different 
parts, and all other accidents that may occur to the animal, and in 
which there is reason to apprehend considerable inflammation, bleed- 
ing will be proper. 

6. In violent catarrh or cold, bleeding is employed ; but, in slight 
cases, a few fever drinks will restore the animal. 



BLEEDING. 43 

7. The yellows, when attended with feverish symptoms, or consti- 
pation of the bowels, requires bleeding. 

The manner of performing this operation is too well known to re- 
quire any description. 

The Fleam is an instrument in general use for oxen, and the jugular 
or neck vein is that which is mostly opened. Local bleeding is, how- 
ever, in many cases particularly serviceable. In inflammation of the 
eye, the eye-vein is frequently cut; in foot-halt, we sometimes bleed 
at the toe ; and in inflammation of the bowels, or the udder, or even 
of the chest, blood is advantageously taken from the milk-vein. 

The quantity of blood that it may be proper to take away at one 
time cannot here be determined ; but must be regulated by the size, 
strength, and condition of the animal, and the disease under which 
he labours. In many inflammator)' complaints too much can hardly 
be taken, provided the bleeding is stopped as soon as the patient 
appears likely to faint or to fall down. A strong healthy beast will 
bear the loss of five or six quarts of blood, without the least injury. 
Larger cattle, that are attacked with inflammatory complaints, will 
profit by the abstraction of a greater quantity ; seven or eight quarts 
may be taken away with decided advantage : but when it is necessary 
to repeat the bleeding, the degree of fever and the strength of the 
beast will regulate the quantity. The blood should flow from a large 
orifice, for sudden depletion is far more powerful in its operation than 
when the blood is suffered slowly to trickle down. The blood must 
never be suffered to fall upon the ground, but should be received into a 
measure, in order that the quantity taken maybe known. No absolute 
quantity of blood should ever be prescribed, but when extensive bleed- 
ing is demanded, the stream should flow until the pulse falters, or 
intermits, or the animal begins to heave violently, or threatens to fall, 
or other circumstances show that the system is sufficiently affected. 
The beast should not be permitted to drink cold water immediately 
after bleeding, nor to graze in the field : the former has sometimes 
induced troublesome catarrh, and the latter may cause the orifice to 
open again. If this operation is performed in the summer season, it 
will be most prudent to fetch the cattle out of the pasture towards 
evening, in order that they may be bled ; and, after that, to let them 
stand in the fold-yard all night, and drive them back to the field on 
the following morning. 



CHAPTER III. 

ON PHYSIC. 



Purging medicines operate by increasing the evacuation of faeces 
from the bowels, and thus often removing a very considerable source 
of irritation. They augment the secretion of the exhalent vessels 



44 PHYSIC. 

situated on the internal coat of the intestines, and thus, by producing 
watery stools, lessen the quantity of fluid circulating through the 
system. They divert the increased flow of the blood from the affected 
organ, and determine it to the bowels, which is well elucidated in 
red water; and they have a peculiar influence on the nervous system, 
augmenting the energy of the nerves distributed to the intestines, but 
diminishing it in other parts of the system. 

The chief purgatives in use for neat cattle are Glauber's salts, 
Epsom salts, Barbadoes aloes, Linseed oil, and Sulphur. In obsti- 
nate constipation of the bowels, ten or fifteen grains of the farina of 
the Croton nut, freshly prepared, may be added with good effect. 
One pound of Glauber's, or Epsom salts, will purge a full-sized 
beast. Aloes are very properly getting into disuse : they are uncertain 
in their effect, they require very considerable doses of them to be given 
in order to act alone, and if they should be received into the rumen 
they are apt to disgust and nauseate the animal. Half an ounce, or 
six drachms of them, however, may be added to the salts in particular 
diseases. Where there is considerable fever, or the attack of fever is 
apprehended, there is no purgative so beneficial as the Epsom salts. 
In bad cases, twenty-four ounces may be given at a dose, and eight 
ounces of sulphur every six hours afterwards, until the full purgative 
effect is produced. Linseed oil is rapidly superseding the more ex- 
pensive and the more uncertain castor oil : the dose is from a pint to 
a pint and a half. As a mild aperient, and in cases where there is 
no great degree of fever, and a violent purge is not required, there 
are few better things than Sulphur. Where nothing else is at hand, 
and the case is urgent, Common Salt is no contemptible medicine : a 
pound of it dissolved in water will produce a very fair purgative 
effect, but it should not be given if the animal labours under fever. 
The following are the cases in which purgative medicines are found 
useful : — 

1. I have known some graziers who, when feeding old cows (dur- 
ing summer), have given them a purging drink about every six 
weeks, by way of keeping off the downfall, which in general has had 
the desired effect, and has even caused them to fatten more rapidly. 

2. A purging drink is very properly given to cows soon after 
calving, in order to prevent the milk fever. 

3. Neat cattle are naturally of a greedy and ravenous disposition, 
and their appetite is hardly ever satisfied. Milch cows in particular, 
if feeding on herbage, or other food agreeable to their palate, will 
often continue to graze until they are in danger of suffocation. Thus 
the powers of digestion become over-burdened, and the animal appears 
dull and heavy, and feverish symptoms are induced. Purgatives will 
give the most effectual relief in these cases, and if the appetite does 
not return soon after the physic, a cordial ball will be useful in re- 
storing it. 

4. Cows that are turned into fresh pastures sometimes become 
bound in their body, in which case a purging drink must be imme- 



PHYSIC. 45 

diately administered, and repeated every twelve hours, until the 
desired effect is obtained : a clyster should be given, if the first drink 
does not operate. If the costiveness is accompanied with pain and 
feverish symptoms, inflammation of the bowels is to be suspected, 
and must be treated accordingly. 

5. When red-water is recent, a purging- drink or two will often 
completely remove it. 

6. In the yellows it is generally necessary to give a purging drink, 
and, after that, cordial tonic drinks, in order to invigorate the digestive 
organs. 

7. When medicines are given to prevent cows from slipping their 
calves, they are generally preceded by physic. 

8. In all inflammatory complaints, a purging drink should be ad- 
ministered after the bleeding. 

9. If external inflammation, occasioned by wounds, bruises, and 
other causes, runs high, and affects the whole system, purgative 
medicines are absolutely necessary. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ON SETONING. 

The utility of setoning for the cure of several diseases incident to 
neat cattle cannot be doubted. There are many localities in which, 
if farmers did not adopt this precaution, they would lose great num- 
bers of their young from the black leg. 

In some districts the hoose in calves is very prevalent and fatal : 
where this is the case, they should all be setoned when they are 
getting into condition, and before they are attacked by the disease. 
This will either lessen the violence of the complaint or prevent it 
altogether. 

In joint evil, I have frequently inserted a seton in the dewlap with 
decided good effect. 

Setoning will be often prescribed, in the course of this treatise, in 
inflammatory complaints ; and it acts by exciting a new and artificial 
inflammation in the neighbourhood of the former one, and thus lessen- 
ing its intensity. This plainly proceeds on the principle of diverting 
to another part a portion of the blood which was determined to the 
original one, while also a new direction is given to a portion of the 
nervous influence or power which was concentrated on it. This is in 
accordance with the generally received medical maxim, that no two 
violent inflammations, of different character, can exist in neighbour- 
ing parts at the same time ; and that in proportion to the intensity of 
the one the other will be diminished. 

By the discharge which a seton produces it will likewise relieve 
the overloaded vessels of a neighbouring inflamed part. 



46 SETONING. 

Mode of inserting a Seton. — The seton is commonly made of tow 
and horse hair plaited together, or cord or coarse tape alone, or lea- 
ther. It should be tolerably thick, and eight, ten, or twelve inches 
in length. Before inserting the seton, it should be dipped in oil of 
turpentine. The seton being now prepared, an assistant is to hold 
the animal, while the seton-needle, with the cord affixed to it, is 
plunged into the upper edge of the brisket or dewlap, and brought 
out again towards its lower edge : the space between the tw T o open- 
ings should be from four to eight inches. The seton is to be secured 
by fastening a small piece of wood, or tying a large knot at either 
end of the cord. Matter will begin to run the second day, and, after 
that, the cord should be drawn backwards and forwards two or three 
times every day, in order to irritate the parts, and by this means in- 
crease the discharge. 

When setoning is had recourse to in inflammatory complaints, the 
cord should be dipped in the following blistering ointment: — 

Blistering Ointment. — Take yellow basilicon, one ounce ; cantharides, in powder, 
three drachms ; spirit of turpentine, two fluid drachms. 

This ointment will be found to act efficaciously and quickly in stimu- 
lating the parts to action, and hastening on the suppurative process. 

The root of the common dock forms a very good seton, and one 
that will act speedily and powerfully ; but the best of all, where a 
considerable effect is intended to be produced, is the root of the black 
hellebore. This will very quickly cause considerable swelling as 
well as discharge. 



CHAPTER V. 

COLD AND COUGH HOOSE. 

A simple cold, attended by slight cough and discharge from the 
nostrils, is easily removed. Warm housing, a few mashes, and the 
following drink, will usually succeed : — 

RECIPE (No. I). 
Cough and Fever Drink. — Take emetic tartar, one drachm ; powdered digitalis, 
half a drachm; and nitre, three drachms. Mix, and give in a quart of tolerably 
thick gruel. 

There are few things, however, more dangerous, if neglected, than 
cough or hoose ; and there are few maladies that are so often ne- 
glected. 

The farmer will go into the cow-house, or into the pasture, again 
and again, and hear some of his cows coughing, and that perhaps 
hardly, or hollowly, or painfully ; but, while they continue to chew 
the cud, and do not waste in flesh, he thinks little about it, and suffers ' 
them to take their chance. 



COLD AND COUGH HOOSE. 47 

The inflammation is slight; the animal is scarcely ill at all ; the 
cough remits and returns, with or without his observation. He adds 
to it, perhaps, by improper treatment. He exposes the beast unne- 
cessarily to cold or wet; or he crowds his cattle into stables shame- 
fully small compared with the number of the animals, and the air is 
hot and nauseous, and charged with watery fluid thrown off from the 
lungs and from the skin. The cough increases, it becomes hoarse, 
and harsh, and painful ; and that affection is established which oftener 
lays the foundation for consumption and death than any other malady 
to which these animals are exposed. 

That farmer is inattentive to his own interests who suffers a cough, 
and especially a hoarse, feeble cough, to hang about his cattle longer 
than he can help. He should be warned in time, before his cows are 
getting off their feed, and becoming thin, and are half dry ; for then 
it will generally be too late to seek for advice, or to have recourse to 
medical care : the disease has fastened upon a vital part, and the 
constitution is undermined. 

Cough occasionally assumes an epidemic character — from sudden 
changes of the weather, chiefly and particularly in the spring and the 
fall of the year : it then spreads over a great part of the country, and 
is often particularly severe. 

The symptoms of epidemic cold or catarrh, or influenza, as it is 
sometimes called, are frequently serious. The beast is dull and 
heavy, with weeping at the eyes, and dry muzzle ; the hair looks 
pen-feathered, or staring; the appetite fails; the secretion of milk is 
diminished; there is considerable heaving of the flanks; the pulse 
is from 60 to 70, and the bowels are generally costive or sapped. 

Cattle that have been tenderly managed during the winter, and 
cows after calving, are very subject to it, especially if they have been 
poorly fed, or driven long distances, and exposed to a cold, piercing 
wind. 

It will be necessary to commence the treatment of this disease Avith 
bleeding. From four to six quarts of blood should be taken, and then 
a dose of physic administered. The following will be a good purga- 
tive medicine in such a case : — 

RECIPE (No. 2). 
Purging Drink. — Take epsnm salts, one pound ; powdered caraway-seeds, half an 
Ounce. Dissolve in a quart of warm gruel, and give. 

After that the drink No. 1 should he given morning and night, the 
drink No. 2 being repeated if the bowels should be costive. 

It will be proper to house the beast, and especially at night; and a 
mash of scalded bran with a few oats in it, if there is no fever, should 
be allowed. It is necessary carefully to watch the animals that are 
labouring under this complaint; and, if the heaving should continue, 
or the muzzle again become or continue dry, and the breath hot, more 
blood should be taken away, and the purging drink repeated. At the 
close of the epidemic catarrh, the animal will sometimes be left weak 



48 COLD AND COUGH IIOOSE. 

and with little appetite. It should be well ascertained whether the 
fever has quite left the beast, because listlessness and disinclination 
to move, and loss of appetite, and slight staggering, may result as 
much from the continuance of fever as from the debility which it 
leaves behind. If the muzzle is cool and moist, and the mouth not 
hot, and the pulse sunk to nearly its natural standard, or rather below 
it, and weak and low, the following drink may be ventured on ; but 
No. 1 must be returned to if there is the slightest appearance or in- 
crease of cold or fever. 

RECIPE (No. 3). 
Take emetic tartar, half a drachm; nitre, two drachms; powdered gentian root, 
one drachm : powdered chamomile flowers, one drachm ; and powdered ginger, half a 
drachm. Pour upon them a pint of boiling ale, and give the infusion when nearly 
cold. 

When the beast begins to recover, he should not be exposed in any 
bleak situation, or to much rough weather. 

In some years this epidemic disease destroys a great many cattle. 
In the winter of 1830, and in the spring of 1831, thousands of young 
cattle perished in every part of the country. Some of them were 
carefully examined after death, and the membrane lining the wind- 
pipe was found to be inflamed, and the inflammation extending down 
to and involving all the small passages leading to the air-cells of the 
lungs. 

In a great many instances the windpipe was nearly filled, and the 
small passages of the lungs were absolutely choked by myriads of 
little worms. These cattle had had their flanks particularly tucked 
up, and had stood and coughed with a violence that threatened every 
moment to burst some blood-vessel ; and well they might cough thus 
violently, when the delicate and sensitive lining of the air-tubes wa3 
incessantly irritated by the motion, if not by the bites, of these 
worms. The origin of the worms no one has satisfactorily ascer- 
tained. There is no doubt that there are innumerable little eggs of 
various animalcule, too small to be seen by the unassisted eye, 
always floating in the air, and only "waiting for some proper situation 
or nest in order to be nursed into life. The proper nidus or nest of 
these animals is probably the mucus of the air-passages, and they are 
plentifully lodged upon it in the act of respiration. 

I scarcely know what to advise in the treatment of these agoravated 
cases. The violent cough is an effort of nature to expel the parasites. 
Can we assist her in accomplishing- that expulsion 1 There are cer- 
tain medicines which afford us much relief when we have difficulty 
in expectorating a quantity of thick viscid phlegm. After a dose or 
two of liquorice or squills we find the cough considerably loosened, 
or, in other words, the phlegm is a great deal more fluid, and easily 
got rid of. The same effect, although not to such an extent, is pro- 
duced in cattle, and a few, at least, of the worms are expelled. The 
following prescription may be tried with advantage : — 



COLD AND COUGH HOOSE. 49 

RECIPE (No. 4). 
Expectorant Drink. — Take liquorice rout, two ounces; bruise, and boil in a quart 
of water until the fluid is reduced to a pint; then gradually and carefully add — 
powdered squills, two drachms ; powdered gum guaiacum, one drachm; tincture of 
balsam of Tolu, half an ounce ; honey, two ounces. Give it morning and night. 

There is another way in which the worms may with greater cer- 
tainty be got rid of. There are some substances which are immediately 
destructive to worms when brought into contact with them. Some of 
these medicaments may be taken into the circulation of the animal 
with perfect safety to him, and probably death to the worms. Among 
those which most readily enter into the circulation after being swal- 
lowed is the oil or spirit of turpentine. The breath is very soon 
afterwards tainted with its smell, which shows that a portion of it 
has passed into the lungs. Therefore, when other means have failed, 
and the continuance of the violent cough renders it extremely proba- 
ble that worms are in the air passages, the following prescription 
may be resorted to : 

RECIPE (No. 5). 

Turpentine Drink for Worms. — Take oil of turpentine, two ounces; sweet spirit 
of nitre, one ounce ; laudanum, half an ounce ; linseed oil, four ounces. Mix, and 
give in a pint of gruel. 

This may be repeated every morning without the slightest danger; 
and even when we are a little afraid to give it longer by the mouth, it 
may be thrown up in the form of an injection. A pint of lime water 
every morning, and two table-spoonfuls of salt every afternoon, have 
also been administered with advantage when worms are present in 
the windpipe. 

Before I quit the subject of hoose, I must repeat my caution againrt 
the use of spices and cordials for the cure of this disease. Hundreds 
of animals are yearly lost by this mode of treatment. As easily may 
a fire be put out by pouring oil upon it, as hoose, attended with fever 
(and it is so attended nine times out of ten), be subdued by the far- 
rier's comfortable, or, in other words, highly stimulating, and almost 
intoxicating drink. 

Should the case appear to be obstinate, the exhibition of half doses 
of physic every second or third day will often be useful, with the 
following drink, morning and night, on each of the intermediate 
days : — 

RECIPE (No. 6). 

Take digitalis, one scruple ; emetic tartar, half a drachm; nitre, three drachms; 
powdered squills, one drachm ; opium, one scruple. Mix, and give with a pint of 
gruel. 

A seton in the dewlap should never be omitted ; and if the disease 
seems to be degenerating into inflammation of the lungs, the treat- 
ment must be correspondingly active. 

The termination of hoose that is most to be feared is consumption. 
That will be indicated when the discharge from the nose becomes 
purulent, or bloody, and the breath stinking, and the cough continues 
to be violent, while the beast feeds badly, and the eyes begin to an- 



50 COLD AND COUGH IIOOSE. 

pear sunk in the head, and he rapidly loses flesh. The best remedy 
here, so far as both the owner and the animal are concerned, is the 
pole-axe of the butcher ; for in the early part of the disease the meat 
is not at all injured, and may be honestly sold. If, however, it is 
wished that an attempt should be made to save the animal, the cough 
and fever drink (No. 1, p. 46) may be given daily; more attention 
should be paid to the warmth and comfort of the beast; and, if the 
weather is favourable, it should, after a while, be turned into a salt 
marsh, either entirely, or during the day. 



CHAPTER VI. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 

When common catarrh has been neglected, it will sometimes run 
on to inflammation of the lungs, or the beast may be attacked with 
this disease without any of the previous symptoms of catarrh. This 
is a very serious complaint, and requires the most prompt and deci- 
sive treatment. 

The symptoms are dulness, shivering, and cough that is particu- 
larly sore; the ears, roots of the horns, and legs are sometimes cold, 
but not invariably so, as the quantity of cellular membrane about the 
legs is often sufficient to keep them warm in spite of the nature of 
the complaint; the breath and mouth are hot; the mouth is generally 
open, and there is a ropy discharge from it ; the beast will often lie 
down, and can scarcely be induced to move; the flanks heave very 
laboriously, and the head is protruded, showing the great difficulty 
of breathing. The pulse is not always much increased in number, 
but is oppressed, and can sometimes scarcely be felt. 

Inflammation of the lungs is caused by the perspiration being ob- 
structed from sudden and great' changes of the weather, especially 
when accompanied with wet. Cattle that are driven long distances, 
and then exposed to the cold and damp air of the night, are particu- 
larly liable to it. In most cases it can be traced to the cattle being 
imprudently exposed to cold ; but when the cause is not so apparent, 
it oftenest attacks those that are in good condition. 

Young cattle, and particularly calves, are more subject to this dis- 
ease than older ones ; and in them it must be principally attributed 
to their being in a state of plethora, that is, having a redundancy of 
blood in their systems. 

Sometimes the membrane covering the lungs and lining the chest 
is the part principally attacked ; the disease is then termed pleurisy, 
and is in this form often complicated with rheumatism, but it is more 
usual for the substance of the lungs to be affected in common with 
their envelopments. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 51 

Copious bleeding is the remedy most to be depended on for sub- 
duing the inflammation, and should be had recourse to as soon as the 
disease is discovered. The beast should be put into a cool cow-house 
well littered, and immediately bled. If the difficulty of breathing and 
other symptoms are not much relieved in six or eight hours after the 
first bleeding, it should be repeated. A third or fourth bleeding may 
in bad cases be requisite. In this disease, more than in any other, 
the person who attends the cattle should be present when the beast 
is bled. It is impossible, by looking at the patient, and considering 
the symptoms, to say what quantity of blood ought to be taken away; 
but as a general rule, and especially in inflammation of the lungs, 
and at the first bleeding, the blood should flow until the pulse begins 
to falter, and the animal seems inclined to faint. The faltering of the 
pulse will regulate the quantity of the after-bleedings. Little bleed- 
ings of two or three quarts, at the commencement of inflammation of 
the lungs, can never be of service ; from six to eight quarts must be 
taken, or even more, regulated by the circumstances that have been 
mentioned, and the blood should flow in a large full stream. 

A seton should be set in the dewlap immediately after the first 
bleeding, and the purging drink (No. 2, p. 47) given. Four drachms 
of nitre, two of extract of belladonna, and one of tartarized antimony, 
may afterwards be administered twice a day in a drink. 

In very severe cases the chest has been fired and blistered with 
advantage. 

Warm water and mashes must be regularly given two or three 
times a day. 

When the beast has recovered, it will be proper, as much as possi- 
ble, to avoid all those causes which induced the complaint. The 
animal should for a short time be housed during the night, and, if the 
weather is very unsettled, kept up altogether, or turned out for a few 
hours only in the middle of the day. 



CHAPTER VII. 

RHEUMATISM, OR JOINT-FELLON. 

The early symptoms of this complaint are those of common catarrh, 
with no great cough, but more than usual fever : b} r degrees, how- 
ever, the animal shows some stiffness in moving, and if the hand is 
pressed upon the chine or any part of the back, the beast will shrink, 
as if this gave him pain. When the complaint goes no farther than 
this, it is called chine-fe/lon in many parts of the country; but gene- 
rally, in two or three days, the animal appears stiffer in the joints; 
these afterwards begin to swell, and are evidently painful, particu- 
larly when he attempts to move. Sometimes the stiffness extends all 



52 RHEUMATISM, OR JOINT-FELLON. 

over the body, and to such a degree that the beast is unable to rise 
without assistance. 

This is generally termed joint-fellon. Old cows are very subject to 
it, and especially a short time before calving ; but milch cows and 
young cattle are oftener attacked by it at the spring of the year. It 
is mostly occasioned by the animal being kept in a state of poverty 
during the winter, and suddenly exposed to the vicissitudes of the 
weather in the spring, or to the inclemency of the north or north- 
easterly winds, especially in low situations. 

This disease sometimes comes on suddenly, and is present in a 
very acute form, being in fact a severe chill : these acute symptoms 
may subside, and be succeeded by others, milder but more obstinate. 
Sometimes abscesses will form amongst the muscles, or the sheaths 
or bodies of the tendons ; and the capsular ligaments of the joints are 
often distended with synovia. These symptoms are particularly un- 
favourable. 

In this disease we find the same class of membranes, viz., the 
serous, diseased throughout the body, and arj examination after death 
sometimes exhibits, in addition to the diseased appearances before 
noticed, the membrane lining the heart, the chest, and the abdomen, 
considerably affected, either wholly or in part, and sometimes a con- 
siderable effusion of water in these cavities. 

As soon as the disease makes its appearance, the beast must be 
taken to a warm cow-house or stable, or some situation sheltered 
from the severity of the weather. The following purging drink should 
then be given : — 

RECIPE (No. 7). 
Sulphur Purging Drink.— Take sulphur, eight ounces ; ginger, half an ounce. Mix 
with a quart of warm gruel. This drink should be repeated every third day if the 
bowels appear to require it. 

The bowels having been gently opened, a drink which may cause 
some determination to the skin, and increase the insensible perspira- 
tion, should be administered. 

RECIPE (No. 8). 
Rheumatic Drink.— Take nitre, two drachms ; tartarized antimony, one drachm; 
spirit of nitrous ether, one ounce ; aniseed powder, an ounce. Mix with a pint of 
very thick gruel, and repeat the dose morning and night, except when it is necessary 
to give the sulphur purging drink (No. 7). 

If there should be much fever at any period of the complaint, the 
sulphur drink must be exchanged for the purging drink (No. 2, p. 47), 
and three or four quarts of blood taken away. 

If any of the joints should continue swelled and painful, they 
should be rubbed twice a day, and for a quarter of an hour each time, 
with a gently stimulating embrocation. 

RECIPE (No. 9). 
Rheumatic Embrocation. — Take neat's foot oil, four ounces; and camphorated oil, 
spirit of turpentine, and laudanum, each one ounce ; oil of origanum, one drachm. 
Mix. 



RHEUMATISM, OR JOINT-PELLON. 53 

Should a scaly eruption break out on the joints, or any part of the 
legs, after the beast has apparently recovered, an ointment composed 
as follows will generally clear off the scurf, heal the cracks or sores, 
and cause the hair to grow again. 

RECIPE (No. 10). 
Healing Cleansing Ointment— Take lard, two pounds ; resin, half a pound. Melt 
them together, and when nearly cold, stir in calamine, very finely powdered, half a 
pound. 

If stiffness or swelling of the joints should remain after the in- 
flammation and tenderness are removed, the joints should be well 
rubbed morning and night with a gently stimulating embrocation. 
The following will be as good as any : — 

RECIPE (No. 11). 
Camphorated Oil. — Take camphor, two ounces, and break it into small pieces ; put 
it into a pint of spermaceti or common olive oil, and let the bottle, being closely 
stopped, and shaken every day, stand in a warm place until the camphor is dis- 
solved. 

When a beast has had one attack of rheumatism, he will be always 
subject to its return, and therefore should be taken more than usual 
care of in cold variable weather; and should he appear to have a 
slight catarrh, or to walk a little stiffer than usual, he should be 
housed for a night or two, and should have a warm mash, and the 
following cordial rheumatic drink ; which, however, would be very 
improper in hoose or cold, or rheumatism connected with any degree 
of fever. 

RECTPE (No. 12). 

Cordial Rhc.vvmtic Drink— Take rhododendron leaves, four drachms; and boil it 
in a quart of water until it is diminished to a pint; strain the decoction, and to half 
of the liquid, warm, add gum guaiacum, finely powdered, two drachms ; powdered 
caraway-seeds, two drachms; and powdered aubeed, two drachms, mixed with half a 
pint of warm ale. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER. 

This is a disease to which cattle are oftener subject than is ima- 
gined, and particularly those that are in high condition and stall-fed : 
the symptoms, however, are usually sufficiently distinct, to guide the 
attentive observer. 

When the milch cow is attacked, there is a diminution of the milk, 
and it has a ropy appearance and saltish taste after being separated 
from the cream. The animal has a heavy appearance, the eyes being 
dull, the countenance depressed, with a stiffened, staggering gait; 
the appetite is impaired, and the membrane of the nostrils and the 
skin is of a yellow colour. Sometimes the respiration is much dis- 
turbed ; at others, it appears tranquil ; but the pulse, though unusually 
5* 



54 INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER. 

quickened, is rarely hard or full. The bowels are generally consti- 
pated, though sometimes purging exists. Rumination is usually 
disturbed, and occasionally altogether suspended. To these will 
occasionally be added the characteristic symptoms of pain on pressure 
on the edge of the short ribs on the right side. In acute inflammation 
of the liver, the most frantic pain has been exhibited ; but this is 
rarely the case. 

A high degree of fever will indicate the propriety of bleeding, but 
it should not be carried to too great an extent, but may be repeated. 
After bleeding, one or two drachms of calomel, with a scruple of 
opium, and two drachms of ginger, may be given in gruel, and a few 
hours afterwards twelve ounces of Epsom salts and half a pint of 
linseed oil. The calomel and opium may be repeated twice a day, 
and the purgative also until the bowels are sufficiently operated on. 
If, however, purging be present from the first, a few ounces only of 
Epsom salts should be given, but a drachm each of calomel and 
opium repeated twice a day; and if the purging continue, the case 
may be treated as one of diarrhoea. The sides in this disease should 
be blistered, and setons may also be inserted. 

Inflammation of the liver frequently leaves after it a great deal of 
weakness, and tonics are clearly indicated. The best medicine that 
can be given is the following : — 

RECIPE (No. 13). 

Tonic Drink. — Take gentian root, powdered, half an ounce; ginger, powdered, one 
drachm ; epsoin salts, two ounces. Mix the whole with a pint of warm gruel, and 
give it morning and night. 

No hay, and little corn, should be given in inflammation of the 
liver ; but the diet should consist of mashes and green meat. 

When a beast dies of this disease, all the contents of the chest and 
the belly will often be found to be considerably affected. The lungs 
in almost every case exhibit inflammation, and there are patches of 
inflammation in the bowels. 

It has been stated that fat beasts, or such as are in good condition, 
are very liable to this disease, and particularly those that have been 
fed much on oil-cake. It is more frequent in hot than in cold wea- 
ther, and in store cattle that have been over-driven, or worried in 
woodland pastures by the flies. Sudden change of weather; the 
exposure to considerable cold, of a well-fed beast that had been well 
housed, or indeed anything that has a tendency to excite fever, will 
produce inflammation in an organ that has been over-worked, or is 
disposed to disease from the undue secretion of bile in the rapid ac- 
cumulation of flesh and fat. Chronic inflammation of the liver is 
characterized by symptoms similar but more moderate than those 
detailed. The debility gradually increases, and death often succeeds. 
The same treatment should be pursued, with the exception of bleed- 
ing. 



THE YELLOWS, OR JAUNDICE. 55 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE YELLOWS, OR JAUNDICE. 

Tins is a far more common disease than the last, and almost as 
dangerous, because, although it is not marked by any acute symp- 
toms, or accompanied by much fever, it creeps on insidiously, and 
fastens itself on the constitution, beyond the power of medicine to 
eradicate it; or it is the consequence and the proof of some disease 
of the liver, which is equally difficult to cure. It ma)' be produced 
by inflammation of the liver, or too great secretion of the bile, or 
stoppage of the vessels through which the bile should flow into the 
bowels. If its passage is obstructed, it is thrown back again upon 
the liver, and there taken up by the absorbents, and carried into the 
circulation, and communicates a yellow colour to the blood ; and as 
the blood, by means of the capillary vessels, is carried to every point 
and part of the body, so the yellow hue of the disease spreads over 
the whole of the frame. 

This obstruction is sometimes effected by the undue thickness of 
the bile; sometimes by hardened bile or gall-stones ; and in not a 
few cases it is caused by a greater secretion of bile than can find its 
way into the intestines, and which, consequently, accumulates in the 
liver, until it is taken up by the absorbents, and carried into the frame 
in the manner that has just been described. 

At the beginning of the disease there is considerable dulness and 
languor, and loss of appetite. The cow wanders about by herself, or 
is seen standing by the side of the hedge or the fence in a most 
dejected manner. The quantity of milk is generally lessened ; the 
bowels are costive ; and the fore-teeth are sometimes loose : milch 
cows are more subject to it than oxen, and particularly in the latter 
end of the year. Sudden change of weather frequently gives rise to 
it, and especially if the animal has previously exhibited symptoms 
of ill-health. 

The treatment and the hope of cure depend upon the causes and 
degree of the disease, and which should be most carefully ascertained. 
If it has followed symptoms of fever, probably indicative of inflam- 
mation of the liver, it may be difficult to remove, because it is an 
indication of the ravages which disease has made in the organ. 
Should the pulse be strong as well as quick, moderate bleeding will 
be judicious, but not otherwise. The bowels should then be freely 
opened by means of the purging drink (No. 2, p. 47), and kept open 
by half-doses of it administered as occasion may require. In this 
disease, oftener than in any other to which cattle are subject, sto- 
machics are useful to rouse the digestive organs to their proper tone 
and power. Mingled with them, or at other periods of the day, medi- 
cines may be given which are supposed to have a direct effect on the 



56 THE YELLOWS, OR JAUNDICE. 

liver, and a tendency to restore its healthy action ; therefore, while 
the ionic drink (No. 13, p. 54) is given in the morning, the following 
may be given at night : 

RECIPE (No. 14). 

Drink for the Yellows. — Take, of calomel and opium, a scruple each : mix and sus. 
pend in a little thick gruel. 

If, on pressing the sides, the animal evinces pain, we may suspect 
some inflammation of the liver; and a blister on the sides, but par- 
ticularly the right side, will be useful. 

After the yellowness is removed, and the beast restored to health, 
the tonic drink (No. 13, p. 54) should be given twice in the week for 
a month. This will contribute to restore the weakened appetite, and 
particularly will bring back to the cow the proper flush of milk. 



CHAPTER X. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 

This is not a very frequent, but a most frightful disease. It is 
commonly known by the names phrenzy or sough. It is most preva- 
lent among well-fed cr-.ttle, and particularly in the summer months. 
In the early period of it the beast is dull and stupid. He stands with 
his head protruded, or pressed against something for support. He 
refuses to eat, ceases to ruminate, and is, in a manner, unconscious 
of surrounding objects. Now and then he will stand motionless for 
a long time, and then suddenly drop; he will start up immediately, 
gaze around him with an expression of wildness and fear, and then 
sink again into his former lethargy. All at once, however, his eyes 
will become red, and seemingly starting from their sockets; the 
countenance will be both anxious and wild ; the animal will stagger 
about, failing and rising again, and running unconsciously against 
everything in his way : at other times he will be conscious enough 
ef things around him, and possessed with an irrepressible desire to 
do mischief. He will stamp with his feet, tear up the ground with 
his horns, run at every one within his reach, and with tenfold fury at 
any red object; bellowing all the while most tremendously, and this 
he will continue until nature is quite exhausted : a sudden and vio- 
lent trembling will then come over him, he will grind his teeth, and 
the saliva will pour from his mouth ; he will fall, every limb will be 
convulsed, and he will presently die. 

Causes. — It proceeds most commonty from a redundancy of blood 
in the system, called by farmers an overflowing of the blood ; and 
this is induced by cattle thriving too fast when turned on rich pas- 
ture-grounds, or their being fed too quickly in order to get them into 
condition for show or sale. It is sometimes occasioned by the intense 






INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 57 

heat of the sun, when cattle have heen turned into the fields where 
there has been nothing to shade them from its influence. It may be 
brought on by severe contusions on the head, or by the cattle being 
harassed and frightened, when driven along the road or through laro-e 
towns. 

Very few weeks pass in the metropolis in which cattle are not 
driven into a state of absolute madness, either by the brutality of the 
drovers, or by a set of miscreants whose sport it is to abuse and infu- 
riate the animal, and endanger the lives of the passengers. 

The chief or the only cure is bleeding. The neck vein should be 
opened, on each side, if possible, and the blood should be suffered to 
flow until the animal drops. It is absurd to talk of quantities here; 
as much should be taken as can be got, or, at least, the blood should 
flow until the violence of the symptoms is quite abated. 

To this a dose of physic should follow. The following may be 

administered : — 

RECIPE (No. 15). 

Ji Strong Physic Drink. — Take, Epsom or Glauber's salts, half a pound ; the kernel 
of the croton nut, ten grains: take off the shell of the croton nut, and weigh the pro- 
per quantity of the kernel. Rub it down to a fine powder; gradually mix it with 
half a pint of thick gruel, and give it, and immediately afterwards give the salts, 
dissolved in a pint and a half of thinner gruel. 

If the violence or even the wandering should remain, another bleed- 
ing should take place six hours afterwards, and this also until the 
pulse falters ; and the purging should be kept up by half-doses of the 
powder (No. 2, p. 47). 

Although it is very difficult to produce a blister on the thick skin 
of the ox, it should be attempted if the disease does not speedily sub- 
side. The hair should be closely cut or shaved from the upper part 
of the forehead and the poll, and for six inches on each side down the 
neck, and some of the following ointment well rubbed in : — 

RECIPE (No. 16). 
Blister Ointment. — Take, lard, twelve ounces; resin, four ounces; melt them toge- 
ther, and, when they are getting cold, add oil of turpentine, four ounces ; and pow- 
dered cantharides, live ounces ; stirring the whole well together. 

When the blister is beginning to peel off, green elder or marsh- 
mallow ointment will be the best application to supple and heal the 
part. A little of it should be gently smeared over the blistered sur- 
face morning and night. 

A seton smeared with the above ointment ma) r be inserted on each 
side of the poll in preference to the application of a blister. 

Although the violence of the disease, and of its remedies, will ne- 
cessarily leave the beast exceedingly reduced, no stimulating medi- 
cine or food must on any account be administered. Mashes and 
green meat, and these in no great quantities, must suffice for nourish- 
ment, or, if the animal, as is sometimes the case, is unable to eat, a 
few quarts of tolerably thick gruel may be horned down every day; 
but ale and gin, and spices, and tonic medicines, must be avoided as 
downright poisons. There is not a more common or a more fatal 



58 INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 

error in cattle management than the eagerness to pour in comfortable, 
I would rather say, poisonous drinks. Even the treacle and the 
sugar in the gruel must be prohibited, from their tendency to become 
acid in the debilitated stomach of the animal recovering from such a 
complaint. 

Ever< r symptom of the disease having vanished, the beast may very 
slowhj return to his usual food ; but, when he is turned out to pasture, 
it will be prudent to give him a very short bite of grass, and little or 
no dry meat. Nature is the best restorer of health and strength in 
these cases; and it is often surprising, not only how rapidly the ox 
will regain all he has lost, if left to nature, and not foolishly forced 
on, but how soon and to what a considerable degree his condition will 
improve beyond the state in which he was before the complaint. 

The ox that has once had inflammation of the brain should ever 
afterwards be watched, and should be bled and physicked whenever 
there is the least appearance of staggers or fever. The safest way 
will be to send him to the butcher as soon as he is in sufficient con- 
dition. 

Sometimes the disease does not run its full course. There is but 
a slight degree of inflammation, or there may be sudden determina- 
tion or flow of blood to the head from some occasional cause, and 
without inflammation. This is knowm by the name of 

STAGGERS, OR SWIMMING IN THE HEAD. 

The symptoms are heaviness and dulness ; a constant disposition 
to sleep, which is manifested by the beast resting its head upon any 
convenient place ; and he reels or staggers when he attempts to walk. 
If this disease is not checked by bleeding, purging, and proper ma- 
nagement, it will probably terminate in inflammation of the brain or 
inflammatory fever. 

It mostly attacks those cattle that have been kept in a state of 
poverty and starvation during the winter season, and in the spring 
of the year have been admitted into too fertile a pasture: hence is 
produced a redundancy of blood in the system, which, on the slight- 
est disturbance, or even naturally, gives rise to the disease. 

The cure must be attempted by taking four, five, or six quarts of 
blood from the animal, according to its size and strength; the purg- 
ing drink (No. 15, p. 57) must then be administered, and (No. 2, 
p. 47) continued in half- doses every eight hours, until the full purga- 
tive effect is produced. If the animal is not relieved in the course of 
two hours from the first bleeding, the operation must be repeated to 
the same extent, unless the beast should become faint; and the bow- 
els must be kept in a loose or rather purging state by No. 2. As 
soon as the bowels are opened, the fever drink (No. 1, p. 46) should 
be given morning, noon, and night, until the patient is w T ell. Nothing 
more than a very little mash should be allowed, and all cordials should 
be avoided as absolutely destructive to the beast. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 59 

When the animal appears to be doing well, he must very slowly 
be permitted to return to his usual food. He should for some weeks 
be put into short and scanty pasture; the seton should be continued 
in the dewlap, and occasional doses of Epsom salts administered. 



CHAPTER XI. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS, WITH COSTIVENESS. 

Inflammation of the bowels is by no means an uncommon disease 
among neat cattle, and frequently proves fatal to them from injudi- 
cious treatment. It is a complaint easily recognisable on account of 
the peculiar symptoms by which it is attended. 

The animal is continually lying down and getting up again imme- 
diately, and, when up, he strikes at his belly with the hind feet. 
The bowels are obstinately constipated : the dung, if any is voided, 
is in small quantities — hard, covered with mucus, and that sometimes 
streaked with blood — and the urine is generally voided with difficulty. 
The pulse is quicker than natural, and there is much heaving at the 
flanks. 

It is distinguished from colic by the great degree of fever that evi- 
dently attends it, the muzzle being dry and the mouth hot. The 
animal becomes speedily weak, he falls or throws himself down sud- 
denly, and when he rises he does it with difficulty, and he staggers 
as he walks. The lowness and weakness appear more speedily and 
decidedly than in almost any other disease. 

The attack is sudden like that of colic. The animal quits his 
companions, and hides himself under the hedge. If he is in the 
plough, he all at once becomes deaf to the voice of the driver, and 
insensible to the goad. He trembles all over — his skin becomes hot 
— his back and lqins are tender — his ears and horns hot. Everything 
indicates the highest degree of local inflammation and general fever. 

The disease mostly arises from sudden exposure to cold ; and espe- 
cially when cattle go into rivers or ponds after being heated and 
fatigued. It is sometimes produced by change of pasture, and feed- 
ing too much on dry and stimulating diet. 

The first thing to be done, and that which admits of no delay, is to 
bleed ; from six to eight quarts of blood at least should be taken 
away. Immediately afterwards the purging drink (No. 15, p. 57) 
should be administered, and its effect promoted by half-doses" of 
No. 2, given every six hours. This is a very dangerous disease, and 
the measures pursued must be of the most decisive kind. The symp- 
toms succeed each other rapidly, and if one day is suffered to pass 
without proper means being taken, the beast is irrecoverably lost. 

The third stomach or manyplus will generally be found, after 



60 INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 

death, choked up with dry food, hardened between the leaves of 
which that stomach is composed. It will be necessary to wash this 
well out before the proper path to the fourth stomach can be opened. 
In order to effect this, plenty of thin gruel, or water with the chill 
taken off, should be given; or, if the beast will not drink it, several 
quarts of it should be horned down. Clysters of warm water, or thin 
gruel, with a purging powder dissolved in them, should likewise be 
administered. 

After having bled the animal once copiously, and, if the fever has 
not subsided, a second, or even a third time, the farmer should in 
this disease of higfh inflammation of the bowels, and strangly obsti- 
nate costiveness, found his only hope of saving the animal in pro- 
ducing purging, and to this purpose his whole attention should be 
directed. 

If it should not be accomplished after the third dose of the medi- 
cine, a pound of common salt may be given. The water or other 
liquid which the beast will probably be induced to drink will assist 
in purging him. Should not this succeed, a pound and a half of 
castor-oil must be administered. 

The patience of the attendants will sometimes be almost worn out 
— they must, however, persist. Clysters, numerous, and great in 
quantity, must be administered. The Epsom salts and the castor-oil 
will not do harm in whatever quantities they are given : it will not 
be prudent, however, to repeat the common salt. During the whole 
of this time the cordial drink of the cow-leech must be avoided as a 
dose of poison. 

The farmer or the attendant must not be deceived by the passage 
of a little liquid dung in a small stream, for that shows that there is 
vet much hardened faeces clino-inp - round the intestines, and which 
must be removed, and therefore he must pursue the measures recom- 
mended until the dung is expelled in considerable quantities, and in 
a large full. stream, and without much straining. There has gene- 
rally been something more than usually wrong in the food or manage- 
ment when this sad constipation is observed. Either the animal has 
been kept too much and too long on dry food ; or he has been turned 
into fresh pasture (and particularly in the autumn) in which there are 
oak-trees or some astringent vegetables. The cause must be removed, 
or the disease will return. 

The state of the bowels of a beast that has once been sapped should 
be observed for some time afterwards, and gentle aperients occasion- 
ally administered ; cold water should not, for a little while, be per- 
mitted, and strict attention should be paid to the diet. 

Inflammation of the bowels, however, will in a few cases occur 
without all this costiveness, and yet produced by nearly the same 
causes. The other symptoms are the same, but the danger is not so 
great. The beast should be bled and physicked, kept moderately 
warm, and have warm water with bran mashes. 



DIARRHCEA, OR PURGING. 61 

CHAPTER XII. 

DIARRHCEA, OR PURGING. 

Purging is produced by various causes ; by change of food, from 
dry to green meat, or from short to luxuriant pasture ; by poisonous 
plants, bad water, or unknown atmospheric agency. 

It is not always to be regarded as a disease, nor should the farmer 
be always anxious to stop it. It may be an effort of nature to dis- 
charge something that is injurious; it may exist while the beast 
enjoys almost perfect health, and is even thriving. 

The farmer will not regard an occasional fit of purging ; he will 
only attack it if it is violent, or if it continues too long. In the first 
case it indicates some disordered state of the bowels, or the presence 
of some oiTending matter in them, and he will endeavour to remedy 
this ; not, as is too often done, by attempting to arrest the discharge 
as speedily as he can — not by the exhibition of astringent medicine 
— but by giving a mild dose of physic, in order to assist nature in 
her effort to get rid of some evil. Nothing so much distinguishes 
the man of good sense from the mere blunderer as the treatment of 
purging. 

From half to three-quarters of a pound of Epsom salts should be 
given with the usual quantity of ginger. The next day he may pro- 
bably administer a little astringent medicine. The following will be 
effectual, and not too powerful : — 

RECIPE (No. 17). 
Astringent Drink. — Take prepared chalk, two ounces; oak bark, powdered, one 
ounce; catechu, powdered, hall' an ounce; opium, powdered, two scruples; ginger, 
powdered, two drachms. Mix, and give in a quart of warm gruel. 

In the second case also, when purging has long continued, and 
the animal is beginning to become thin and weak, the practitioner 
must begin with physic. There is probably some lurking cause of 
intestinal irritation. He should give the quantity of Epsom salts just 
recommended — or perhaps he will more prudently give from half a 
pint to a pint of castor-oil. It will usually be a good practice to give 
a rather smaller dose on the following day ; and, after that, he may 
safely have recourse to the astringents : the animal should be brought 
into a cow-house or enclosed yard, where it can be sheltered from the 
weather, and kept partly or altogether on dry meat. 

It is of great consequence that diarrhcea or simple purging should 
be distinguished from another disease with which it is too often con- 
founded. They are both characterized by purging. That which has 
been just considered is the discharge of dung in too great quantity, 
and in too fluid a form ; but that which will form the subject of the 
next chapter, dysentery, is the evacuation of the dung, mingled with 
mucus, or mucus and blood. In diarrhoea the dung is voided in large 
6 



62 DIARRHOEA, OR PURGING. 

quantities, and in a full stream ; it has sometimes an offensive smell, 
and is occasionally bloody : but dysentery is often accompanied by a 
peculiar straining; the dung 1 is not so great in quantity, and it is 
more offensive, and more highly charged with blood. 

The one is an accidental thing — not always to be considered as a 
disease — and often ceasing of itself when the purpose for which na- 
ture set it up, — the expulsion of some acrid or injurious matter from 
the alimentary canal, — has been accomplished; the other is an indi- 
cation of an inflammatory affection of the larger intestines, difficult 
to be controlled, often bidding defiance to all means, and speedily 
destroying the animal. Diarrhoea occurs at all times of the year, and 
particularly after a su«lden and great change of pasture; dysentery is 
a disease almost peculiar to the spring and autumn alone. It must 
be confessed, however, that diarrhoea is sometimes the precursor of 
dysentery in its worst form. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

DYSENTERY, SLIMY FLUX, OR SCOURING ROT. 

It has been just observed that this disease is most prevalent in the 
spring and autumn, particularly in low, wet, and swampy situations. 
It is one of the most fatal diseases to which oxen, and dairy cows in 
particular, are subject, and destroys more than any other malady. 

It begins with frequent and painful efforts to expel the dung, which 
is thin, siiiny, stinking, and olive-coloured. The animal, as appears 
from his restless state, suffers much pain, frequently lying down and 
soon rising again. There is also a frequent rumbling noise in the 
intestines. If the disease is neglected, or improperly treated, the 
beast gradually gets thin, although for awhile he retains his appetite, 
and continues to ruminate ; at length he evidently begins to get weak, 
rumination is imperfectly performed, and the food passes from him 
half digested. As this disease is often the consequence of a previous 
affection of the liver, considerable tenderness will be discovered on 
the spine, a little beyond the shoulders. This is one of the methods, 
and a very good one, by which the farmer endeavours to ascertain 
whether a beast which he is thinking of purchasing has the scouring 
rot. As the disease proceeds, the dewlap hangs down and has a 
flabby appearance; the dung runs off with a putrid and offensive 
smell, and, as it falls upon the ground, rises up in bubbles, and a 
membranous or skinny-like substance is often seen upon it : this is 
occasioned by the natural mucus, which was given to defend the 
bowels, being discharged. In proportion to the quantit}^ of mucus 
that mingles with the faeces, the whole is rendered more adhesive, 
and the bubbles are larger, and remain longer on the dung. When 
this is the case the disease is always obstinate, and generally fatal. 



DYSENTERY, &C. 63 

The hair all over the body soon appears pen-feathered or staring. 
Feverish symptoms also accompany the complaint: the eyes become 
dull and inflamed, there is much working of the flanks, and the pulse 
is quick. 

The causes of this dreadful malady are — taking cold at the time 
of calving; long journeys; exposure to sudden vicissitudes of the 
weather ; and, after being over-heated in travelling, being turned into 
damp pastures, &c. Poor keep is a very frequent cause, and espe- 
cially when connected with exhaustion from constant milking; and 
it is more especially the consequence of the cows being badly fed in 
the winter. Some cold wet lands are particularly liable to give the 
rot; yet where the land and treatment are similar it prevails more in 
some dairies than in others, depending much on the breed of the 
cattle. Old cows that are fed on sanded pastures are very subject to 
this complaint. 

In all cases the animals should be taken from grass, and put into a 
large cow-house, or an open yard, where they can be sheltered from 
the weather, and kept on dry food, such as good hay, ground oats, 
barley, and beans. An equal proportion of each of the three last 
articles and of linseed cake will make an excellent food for cattle 
labouring under dysentery. A quantity proportionate to the size and 
appetite of the patients should be given two or three times a day, or 
if they are much reduced and their appetite is quite gone, a thick 
gruel should be made of these ingredients, and administered three or 
four times a day. 

This disease consists in inflammation of the lining membrane of 
the large intestines. It will then be evident that bleeding, propor- 
tioned to the suddenness and violence of the attack, and the apparent 
degree of fever, should be first resorted to. 

If the eyes are inflamed, with heaving of the flanks, and painful 
twitchings of the belly, accompanied by severe straining and appa- 
rent gripings in the expulsion of the excrement, the abstraction of 
blood is indispensable. 

The purgative drink (No. 2, p. 47) should precede the use of every 
other medicine, in whatever state the bowels may be. It will prepare 
for the safer use of astringents. In almost every case there will be 
something in the bowels, which, if it did not cause the disease, con- 
tributes to keep it up. The proprietor of cattle, and he who professes 
to treat their diseases, should know that there can be nothing more 
dangerous than to attempt suddenly to stop a violent purging, espe- 
cially one that assumes the character of dysentery. Let that which 
offends in the bowels be first got rid of, and the disease will some- 
times cease of'itself, or, if it does not, astringents may then be admi- 
nistered with safety. 

The safest and the most effectual astringent mixture for the scour- 
ing rot is that which was recommended in page 61. It may be given 
once or twice in the day, according to the violence of the complaint. 

Ale should never be given in these cases. The astringents may be 



64 DYSENTERY, &C. 

commenced twenty-four hours after the purgative has been adminis- 
tered . 

If the disease does not speedily yield to this treatment, it will not 
be prudent to continue the use of such large quantities of astringent 
medicines for any considerable time. The following drink may then 
be given, and continued morning and night for five or six days : — 

RECIPE (No. 18). 
Astringent Drink with Mutton Suet.— Take mutton suet, one pound; new milk, two 
quarts; boil them together until the suet is dissolved; then add opium, powdered, 
half a drachm; ginger, one drachm, having previously well mixed them with a 
spoonful or two of fluid. 

When the dysentery is stopped, the beast should very slowly and 
cautiously be permitted to return to his former green food. Either 
during the night or the day, according to the season of the year, he 
should be confined in the cow-house, and turned out twelve hours 
only out of the twenty-four. Water should be placed within reach 
of the animal, in the cow-house, and, if possible, in the field ; for 
there are few things more likely to bring on this disease, or more 
certain to aggravate it, than the drinking of an inordinate quantity of 
water after long-continued thirst. 

These precautionary measures should be continued for a considera- 
ble time ; for there is something very treacherous in this malady, and 
it will often suddenly return several weeks after it has been appa- 
rently subdued. 

In those cases, and they are much too numerous, which totally 

resist the influence of the medicines already recommended, other 

means should be tried. The alum whey has sometimes succeeded, 

and is thus prepared : — 

RECIPE (No. 19). 

Mvm Whey.— Take alum, half an ounce ; milk, two quarts. Boil them together 
for ten minutes, and strain. 

This may be administered twice every day. 

The disease may not j^ield even to this. It will then be evident 
that it is the consequence of some other disease, and, probably, of the 
liver, the vitiated bile secreted by which is keeping up the purging. 
It is almost a forlorn hope to attack such a case; but the beast may 
be valuable, and, at all events, we cannot be worse off. The only 
medicine that can have power here is mercury, for it seems to exert 
its chief influence on the liver and the discharge of bile. The mildest, 
and at the same time the most effectual, form in which it can be ad- 
ministered, is that of the blue pill, half a scruple of which may be 
given morning and night, rubbed down with a little thick gruel. 
There is very little danger of salivation : yet it may be prudent to 
give half a pound of Epsom salts every fifth or sixth day ; and most 
certainly to give them every second day, and discontinue the blue 
pill, if the mouth should become sore, or the breath stinking, or there 
should be a more than usual discharge of saliva from the mouth. 

In many cases there is found a schirrous state of the third and fourth 
stomachs in cattle that have died of, or been destroyed for, this disease. 



RED-WATER. 65 

CHAPTER XIV. 

RE D-WATER. 

The nature of this disease has been very much misunderstood. It 
consists of a discharge of«high-coloured urine, and therefore has been 
attributed to an inflammatory affection of the kidneys. It will gene- 
rally be found to begin in another organ, the liver, and to be connect- 
ed, in the first stage at least, far more with disease of that gland than 
of the kidney. 

There are evidently two distinct species of red-water. 

One, but which occurs most seldom, begins with decided symp- 
toms of fever. There is shivering, succeeded by increased heat of the 
body ; the muzzle dry ; working of the flanks ; urine of a red colour, 
evidently tinged with blood, and occasionally consisting almost en- 
tirely of blood, discharged in small quantities, and frequently with 
considerable pain ; loss of appetite. As the disease proceeds, the 
animal loses strength ; the bowels become constipated or very loose; 
and the urine of a dark colour, approaching to black. 

Very early in the complaint the loins become exceedingly tender, 
and the animal shrinks when they are pressed upon; some heat is 
likewise felt there, showing evidently the seat and nature of the dis- 
ease. It sometimes proceeds from cold, particularly when beasts are 
turned into low pasture grounds at the spring of the year. It also 
frequently seizes young cattle that are feeding, or in good condition ; 
for a fulness of blood in the system renders them more liable to the 
complaint. 

Sometimes inflammation of the kidneys proceeds from external 
injuries ; such as a violent bruise across the loins, in consequence of 
other beasts ramping on them, or a severe blow in the region of the 
kidneys. 

The discharge of bloody urine may either proceed from inflamma- 
tion of the kidneys or a rupture of some of the blood-vessels, and in 
either case blood is discharged with the urine, and may be often de- 
tected in clots; whilst in the other kind of red-water, although the 
urine is dark in colour, it does not contain blood. The former disease 
is more frequent with bulls and oxen, and the latter with milch cows. 

When the kidneys are inflamed, and the animal evinces tenderness 
on pressing the loins, the treatment should consist of blood-letting, 
purging, and the application of sheep-skins and stimulants to the 
loins. But in some cases where blood is discharged with the urine 
without any inflammatory appearances, the exhibition of astringents 
and stimulants, such as the following, have effected a cure : — 

RECIPE (No. 20). 
Take oil of juniper, two to four drachms ; tincture of opium, one ounce; oil of 
turpentine, one ounce. Mix, and give in a pint of linseed tea, once or twice a day. 

6* 



G6 RED-WATER. 

True red-water is a disease of the digestive organs, principally of 
the liver; and the dark colour of the urine is owing to the presence 
of vitiated bile, probably loaded with carbon, and not to blood, as 
used to be supposed. 

The more frequent causes are connected with the nature of the 
pasture. There are some farms, or particular parts of the farm, where 
red-w r ater is almost sure to follow when cattle are turned upon them. 
Low marshy grounds are apt to produce Jt, and also pastures with 
much woodland, and especially in the latter part of autumn, when 
the leaves are falling. Some have said that elin-leaves are apt to 
cause red-water ; others attribute the disease to the oak ; and many 
more to some of the numerous species of ranunculuses that abound in 
our marshy and woodland pastures. The truth of the matter, how- 
ever, is, that no one knows what plant is most concerned in the affair ; 
and all that the farmer can do is to observe what pastures most fre- 
quently produce red-water, and at what season of the year, and to 
use them as much as he can for other stock in the dangerous seasons. 

A removal from a poor to a luxuriant pasture, or from a low marshy 
situation to a dry and lofty locality, are frequent causes of red-water; 
and it often occurs after a long succession of dry weather. 

Cows that are dried of their milk are often attacked by it, when 
put into luxurious pasture, while, perhaps, it does not affect those 
that are still milked. The reason of this is plain enough : — the super- 
fluous nutriment not being carried off by the udder in the form of milk, 
the digestive organs are deranged, and the secretions of the liver be- 
come vitiated. 

Some breeds of cows are more disposed to red-water than others, 
and especially if they are brought from a distance, and the quality of 
their pasture materially changed, whether from good to bad, or from 
bad to good. A cow that has once had an attack of red-water is very 
liable to a repetition of the complaint. The farmer is obliged to take 
a great deal of care properly to manage the change of pasture with 
her, and, notwithstanding all his care, she will probably have two or 
three attacks of the disease every year. It w T ill behove him to consider 
how far it is prudent to keep such an animal. No beast that is sub- 
ject to periodical complaints of any kind should be kept, for it may 
easily be prepared for the butcher, and disposed of with little or no 
loss to the farmer. 

The symptoms of red-water are at first purging, which is usually 
followed by constipation; the appetite is impaired; the pulse and 
breathing quickened ; and the former, though bounding at the heart, 
is often weak. The membranes of the nostrils and eyelids are pale, 
and the legs cold ; the milk is diminished, and rumination ceases. 
The urine, from being brown, often becomes black, and the disease 
is, in this state, often denominated black-water. 

The red and the black water are diseases that require prompt and 
careful treatment; for, although, in some slight cases, the beast does 
not seem to be much affected by either, and works or yields her milk 



RED- WATER. 67 

as well as ever, yet ere long it preys upon the constitution, and the 
animal gradually wastes away. 

It is folly 10 wait in order to see whether -nature will effect a cure. 
Except in beasts suddenly put upon more than usually rich pasturage, 
it never is or can be a salutary discharge. It must be preying upon 
the system and wasting the strength, and the sooner it is got rid of 
the better. It attacks milch cows oftener than others, and it is more 
injurious to them than to otjiers. While it lasts, it often materially 
lessens the quantity of milk, and, even after it is removed, the animal 
is slow in returning to her former strength. 

The first thing to be done is to remove the cause of the disease. 
The pasture should be changed. A more open and a drier situation 
should be found, and where the grass, although succulent and nutri- 
tious, is not very plentiful. If there is considerable fever, or the 
animal should appear to be really ill from the discharge, she should 
be taken under shelter, and fed on mashes, with a very little hay; or 
a few turnips or carrots may be allowed her if they are in season. 

Bleeding is often necessary at the onset of this disease, but it 
should always be practised with moderation, and in many cases ab- 
stained from altogether. About two hours after bleeding, the follow- 
ing drink should be administered : — 

RECIPE (No. 21). 
Take epsom, or glauber salts, one pound ; ginger, half an ounce ; carbonate of am- 
monia, lialf an ounce. Pour one quart, of boiling water upon the ingredients, etir 
thera well, and give when new-milk warm. 

A quarter part of this drink may be given every six hours, until the 
bowels are freely opened, and the medicine may be assisted by clys- 
ters. The successful treatment of the disease very much, or altoge- 
ther, depends on early and thoroughly opening the bowels. If this 
is early accomplished, the animal will almost certainly recover. If it 
is neglected, or the constipation cannot be overcome within the first 
two or three days, the termination will probably be fatal. 

When the bowels are properly acted on, mild stimulants may be 
exhibited, such as — 

RECIPE (No. 22). 

Take ginger, one drachm ; gentian, one drachm ; and spirit of nitrous ether, one 
ounce. Mix, and give in a pint of gruel. 

If, with the amendment of the other symptoms, the urine should 
appear black, a diuretic, — such as one ounce of nitre, — may be given 
with the above drink, or even the more powerful stimulant, spirit of 
turpentine, in doses of one or two ounces. 

If, after the bowels have been well opened, and the fever is some- 
what abated, the discharge of blood still continues, and in as great a 
quantity as before, it will be right to have recourse to astringents, yet 
such as will not irritate and stimulate the kidneys ; and even these 
should be administered cautiously. Constipation attended the early 
and most violent stage of the disease — some remission, at least in the 



68 RED- WATER. 

fever and the pain, if not much diminution of discharge, attended the 
removal of the constipation : it must, therefore, be dangerous to con- 
fine the bowels again. The following prescription will be as effica- 
cious as any : — 

RECIPE (No. 23.) 
Take, oak bark, powdered, half an ounce; powdered catechu, two drams; and 
opium, powdered, half a scruple : mix together in a pint of gruel or warm water. 

This may be given morning and night, for a week, cautiously 
watching the state of the bowels, and suspending the astringent, and 
even having recourse to physic, if the bowels should again be con- 
fined. 

The recovery of the animal is denoted by the restoration of the 
pulse and breathing to the natural standard, and the return of the 
appetite, together with the healthy appearance of the urine. It is 
essential, however, to exercise the greatest caution with regard to 
the food for some little time, bearing in mind that the digestive 
organs have been greatly impaired.* 



CHAPTER XV. 

GARGET, OR THE DOWNFALL IN THE UDDER OF COWS. 

Tins is a disease of the utmost consequence to the owners of neat 
cattle. Young cows in high condition are most liable to it, espe- 
cially at the time of calving. Such as are aged are chiefly subject to 
it during hot and sultry weather, particularly those which are fattened 
for the shambles ; when this is the case, the loss is considerable, for 
a summer's keep is generally thrown away. 

This disorder makes its appearance in one or more quarters of the 
udder, which become swollen, hard, hotter than usual, and painful 
when pressed. If the patient is a milch-cow, the secretion of milk is 

*[Red Water. — Charles Waistell, in the London Farmers' Journal, says: For a full- 
grown cow dissolve two pounds Epsom salts in two or three pints of boiling water, 
and give it when new milk warm; then keep her six or eight hours without food. 
If then the salts should not have operated, give four or five quarts warm water, and 
drive her ahout gently; in a quarter of an hour it will operate; then give her as 
much warm water as she will drink, and turn her out to graze, if the weather be 
dry. " My brother, J. Waistell, of West Park, has used the above remedy for up- 
wards of thirty years, and has not in all that time lost one beast by the red water. 
Before he commenced using it, he almost invariably lost cattle annually by that dis- 
ease. His cattle were less frequently afflicted than formerly, which he attributes to 
his having underdrained a great part of his farm, which was wet and boggy. The 
remedy was communicated to him by a relation, Mr. Kendall, a cow-keeper, who for 
many years kept many cows, and occupied part of Mary-le-bone Park, at London." 

S-J 



GARGET. 69 

lessened, and mingled with blood, pus, and corruption. At other times 
the flow of milk is totally stopped, and the tumefied quarter proceeds 
to a state of suppuration. It not unfrequently happens that the hind 
extremities, at the same time, become swollen and inflamed, espe- 
cially about the hip joint, hock, and fetlock, which disables the ani- 
mal from getting up, almost from moving. 

It is inflammation of one or more quarters of the udder, and is most 
commonly induced by the animal catching cold. It particularly at- 
tacks those cows that have a redundancy of blood in the system, or 
are of a gross habit of body. Young heifers are not always exempt 
from it. 

It will be necessary, as soon as the downfall is discovered, to bring 
the animal out of the pasture, and take away from three to five quarts 
of blood, according to her size or strength. If she is bled at night, it 
will be proper on the next morning to give her the purging drink, 
No. 2, (p. 47), or if a stout beast, No. 15, (p. 57). 

The cow should be sparingly fed for a day or two on mashes with 
a little hay, and afterwards turned on rather short pasture. As this 
is a disease either confined to, or most violent and dangerous in, cows 
that are in high condition, it will be quite necessary to keep the 
patient for a while on spare diet. The ground oats, and barley, and 
clover-hay, and oil-cake, that are sometimes given, cannot fail to 
aggravate the complaint. 

The following ointment should be well rubbed into the affected 
quarter, immediately after milking, but it must be carefully washed 
off again with warm water before the milk is drawn. 

RECIPE (No. 24). 

Mercurial Garget Ointment. — Take soft soap, one pound; mercurial ointment, 
two ounces ; camphor, rubbed down with a little spirit of wine, one ounce : rub them 
well together. 

This ointment will penetrate into the diseased part of the udder, 
and be of very great service. 

In obstinate cases the iodine has been applied to the indurated 

udder with great success. 

RECIPE (No. 25). 

Iodine Ointment.— Take, hydriodate of potash, one dram; and lard, seven drams: 
rub them well together. 

A portion, varying from the size of a nut to that of a filbert, accord- 
ing to the extent and degree of the swelling and hardness, should be 
well rubbed into the affected part morning and night. 

It may sometimes be advisable to give the hydriodate internally, 
and from eight to twelve grains may be administered morning and 
night in a little gruel, with very good effect. 

During the continuance of the disease, the bowels must be kept 
open with half-doses of No. 2, (p. 47). The fever drink, No. 1, 
(p. 46), will also be useful, or one more decidedly diuretic, as 

RECIPE (No. 26). 
Diuretic Drink. — Take, powdered nitre, one ounce ; powdered resin, two ounces; 
pingcr. two drams: mix them well together in a little treacle, and give them in 
warm gruel. 



70 GARGET. 

After the purulent and bloody discharge has ceased, and the teat 
seems to be free from inflammation, and nearly of its natural size, 
colour, and softness, it will be prudent to continue the ointment daily, 
and this last drink occasionally for two or three weeks at the least. 

Cases, however, will occur, either neglected at the beginning, or 
the beast being too fat, and very much disposed to inflammation, in 
which the teat and the whole quarter will long continue hard and 
swelled, and tender, and will get worse and worse. The whole of 
the affected part must then be carefully examined, to ascertain whe- 
ther there is matter within, and whether it is pointing, i. e., whether 
there is a part a little more prominent and softer than the rest. If 
this is detected, it should be freely opened with a lancet or penknife, 
the matter suffered to flow out, and the wound dressed with Tincture 
of Aloes or Friar's Balsam. Slight incisions with a lancet, where 
matter cannot be detected, will often be serviceable. The flow of 
blood should be encouraged by fomentations with warm water. The 
teats are sometimes cut off in obstinate cases of this kind ; but that 
should, if possible, be avoided, for the quarter will be lost, and there 
will be a serious diminution in the quantity of milk as long as the 
cow lives. The teat may be cut deeply in order to let out the matter. 
This wound will readily heal again, and the quarter will be as useful 
as ever. 

If the udder appears gangrenous, it should be scarified with a 
lancet, and a solution of chloride of lime applied, whilst the strength 
of the animal should be supported by tonic medicine. 

When the cow dies, it is generally from mortification, to prevent 
which it is often necessary to remove not only the affected teat, but 
the whole of the quarter. A skilful man, more competent than a 
common cow-leach, should be employed for this purpose. 

A frequent but unsuspected cause of this disease is the hasty and 
careless mode of milking which is often adopted. A considerable 
quantity of milk is left in the bag, particularly when a cow gives her 
milk slowly. This is not only a loss to the farmer, from so much 
less milk finding its way into the dairy-room, and from the quantity 
of milk regularly secreted in the udder of the cow gradually dimin- 
ishing; but the milk curdles in the teats, and produces swellings, and 
lays the foundation for garget. 

The Sore Teats to which some cows are subject is a very different 
disease, and often a very troublesome one. It usually occurs a little 
while after they have calved. If it happens in the summer, the ani- 
mals are so sadly tormented by the flies, that it is difficult to milk 
them ; and the discharge from the cracks and wounds passing through 
the hand in the act of milking, and mingling with the milk, renders 
it disgusting, if not unwholesome. 

The following ointment will generally be found effectual : — 

RECIPE (No. 27). 
Ointment for Sore Teats.— Take, elder ointment, six ounces : bees' wax, two ounces: 
mix them together, and add an ounce each of sugar oflead and alum, in fine powder 
—stir them well together until cold. 



G AR O ET. 71 

A little of this should be rubbed on the teats morning 1 and night after 
milking 1 ; and if the flies tease the animal much, a small quantity of 
aloes or assafoetida may be mixed with the ointment. The latter is 
the more effectual, but its smell is very unpleasant. 

The teats are sometimes so sore that it is necessary to hobble the 
cow, in order to make her stand ; but this is seldom effectual ; for the 
legs of the cow get sore, and she kicks worse than ever. Kindness 
and patience are the best remedies. It is never of any use to beat or 
ill-use a cow for this fidgetiness at milking. She will either at the 
time do mischief in return, or she will at some other opportunity take 
her revenge. 

There is another variety of disease to which the udder of cows is 
liable, somewhat different from that described : in Scotland it is 
termed Weeds. It is attended by considerable fever and constitutional 
disturbance, commencing with a shivering fit, which, after some hours, 
is succeeded by a hot fit, in which all the symptoms of fever are pre- 
sent, — the cow hangs her head and refuses to feed, and the udder is 
painful, hot, and swollen. If relief is not soon obtained, an abscess 
forms, and one or more quarters become cold, black, and insensible ; 
the udder becomes disorganized, and the animal is lost. 

The first thing to be done is to administer a warm stimulant, such 
as — 

RECIPE (No. 28). 

Take, ginger powdered, half an ounce; caraway-seeds, six drams; allspice, half an 
ounce: in a quart of warm water or mild ale. 

Sometimes this draught alone will effect a cure, but the body 
should be clothed and the cow well nursed. On the following day, 
if the bowels are constipated and the cow appears dull, a purgative 
should be given. The udder must be fomented with warm water for 
an hour at a time, several times a day, and if it is much swollen, it 
should be suspended with cloths passing over the loins. It may also 
be rubbed with a liniment composed of hartshorn and oil. It is of 
much importance that the fomentations should be as hot as can be 
borne, and applied in good earnest to the part affected, and for a long 
time tooether. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Treatment of the cow before and during calving. 

It is an old and true saying, and the truth of it is nowhere more 
evident than in the treatment of the milch-cow, that the prevention 
of an evil is better than the cure. The difficulty of calving, and the 
mortality afterwards, are in a great measure to be traced to the im- 
proper management of the cow. So far as the udder is concerned, 



72 TREATMENT OF THE COW 

there is a plan usually adopted, and a very necessary one — the cow 
is dried six or eight weeks before calving". Two reasons are given 
for this : the first is, that after a long- period of milking, the strength 
and constitution of the cow require a little respite : a more important 
reason, however, is, that from some cause that has never been fully 
explained, the mixture of the old milk, and the new secretion that 
nature prepares for the expected calf, produces frequently great irri- 
tation and inflammation in the udder, and obstinate garget is apt to 
ensue. 

During the early period of gestation the animal may, and should 
be, tolerably well fed, for she has to provide milk for the dairy and 
nourishment for the fcetus ; yet even here there should be moderation 
and care: but when she is dried, her food should be considerably 
diminished. She should not be too fat or full of blood at the time 
of calving, for that is the frequent cause of difficult labour, garget, 
milk fever, and death. There are few things in which the farmer errs 
more than in this. There may be an error in starving her before she 
calves, but it is a much more dangerous one to brino- her into too high 
condition. 

Some cows are apt to slink their calves, or to produce them dead 
before their time. This generally happens abourt the middle of their 
pregnancy. If about that time a cow is uneasy, feverish, off her food, 
or wandering about in search of something for which she seems to 
have a longing, or most greedily and ravenously devouring some 
particular kind of food, she should be bled and physicked (?s T o. 2, p. 
47). If she is not quieted, she should be bled and physicked again 
in the course of three or four days. She should be immediately re- 
moved from the other cows; for should she slink her calf among 
them, it is not improbable that some, or even all, of the others will 
do the same. This is not easily accounted for, but it is perfectly true. 
The cow that slinks her calf will often require much attention. She 
should always be physicked, and in most cases bled, and, after that, 
the best tiling to be done with her is to fatten her for the butcher; for 
she will probably do the same again, and teach others the habit. 

When the ninth calendar month is nearly expired,* the cow should 
be diligently looked after. She should be brought as near to the 
house as can be conveniently done ; she should lose three or four 
quarts of blood, unless she is very poor; and she should most cer- 
tainly be physicked. It will be better if she can be separated from 
the other cows; and although it may not be prudent to house her 
entirely, there should be some shed or shelter into which she may go. 

When it appears that labour is close at hand, she should be driven 
gently to the cow-house, and for a while left quite alone. She will 
do better by herself than if she is often disturbed by one and another 

* The average period of gestation in t ho cow has been ascertained by Earl Spencer 
to be 234 or 235 days. The longest period under his observation was 313, and the 
shortest. 220 days. He also found that when gestation was longer than the average, 
the greater proportion were bull calves. — White on Cattle Medicine, by W. C. Spooner. 



BEFORE AND DURING CALVING. 73 

looking in upon her and watching her. If, however, she is discovered 
in the act of calving in the homestead, she should not be moved, 
however exposed may be her situation. It would sometimes be dan- 
gerous to drive her even a hundred yards. 

The usual s} r mptoms of the approach of calving are uneasiness, 
slight lifting of the tail, lying down and getting up, the evident 
labour-throe, gentle at first, and increasing in force, and the com- 
mencement of the protrusion of the membranes from her shape. The 
still earlier symptoms, and preceding the labour by a few days, are 
enlargement of the udder, and redness of the space between her shape 
and the udder. 

The labour having actually commenced, the membranes will more 
and more protrude, until they break, and the fluid by which the calf 
was surrounded will escape. If her pains are strong, the cow should 
for a while be scarcely meddled with ; but if an hour or more elapses, 
and no portion of the calf presents itself, the hand, well greased, 
should be introduced, in order to ascertain the situation and position 
of the calf. The natural position is with the fore feet presenting, and 
the muzzle lying upon the fore-legs. If the foetus is found in this 
position, and advanced into the passage, some time longer should be 
allowed to see what nature will do; and the strength of the animal 
may, if necessary, be supported by some gruel, with which a pint of 
warm ale has been mixed, being horned down. As soon, however, 
as the throes begin to weaken, and before that, if no progress has 
been made, manual assistance must be rendered. 

Here it will be recollected that there are two objects to be accom- 
plished, — the saving of the lives of both the mother and the young 
one, and that, consequently, the means at first employed should be 
gentle. The hand should be introduced, and the fore-legs of the calf 
laid hold of and drawn down, the efforts of the operator being em- 
ployed at the moment of the throes of the mother. If the legs are 
brought forward a little way, care should be taken that the head is 
accompanying them. The hand will sometimes be sufficient for this 
purpose. If the head cannot be moved by the hand, a cord must be 
procured with a slip knot at the end, which is to be passed carefully 
into the passage, and, the mouth of the young animal being opened, 
fastened round his lower jaw. The end of this must be given to an 
assistant, who should be instructed to pull gently, but firmly, at the 
moment of the throes, while the principal operator is endeavouring to 
draw on the feet. 

Should not this succeed, it will appear that, either from the narrow- 
ness of the pelvis, or the size of the foetus, there will be difficulty and 
danger in accomplishing its extraction. The operator must then begin 
to think less of the safety of the calf, and endeavour to secure that 
of the mother. Two other large cords or ropes must be procured, and 
one fastened round each leg. The service of two assistants will now 
be required. One should pull at the head, and the other the feet, 
while the operator ascertains the progress that is made : too much 
7 



74 TREATMENT OF THE COW 

force, however, should not immediately be used, for the chance of 
saving the young one must riot yet be given up. This not succeeding, 
greater power must be applied, until the assistants begin to use their 
full strength, pulling steadily, and with the pains of the cow, if they 
still continue. 

In the natural position of the calf, the young one is almost uniformly 
extracted by these means, and its life is preserved ; for both the mo- 
ther and her progeny will, without serious injury, bear the employ- 
ment of more force than would by some be thought credible. When 
the womb is unable to discharge its contents, and the throes are 
diminishing, or perhaps ceasing, much benefit may be derived from 
the administration of the ergot of rye, which appears to act as a 
stimulus specifically on the uterus: two drachms of this medicine, 
finely powdered, may be given in a pint of ale, and repeated several 
times, if required, with intervals from half an hour to an hour. 

The fetus is not, however, always presented naturally, and it is 
the duty of the operator to ascertain its exact position in the womb. 
This he will not find much difficulty in accomplishing. 

The most usual false position is the presentation of the head, while 
the feet of the calf are bent and doubled down under his belly, and 
remain in the womb. A cord must be passed as before around the 
lower jaw, which is then to be pushed back into the womb. The 
operator now introduces his hand, and endeavours to feel the situation 
of the feet. He is generally able to find them out, and to fix a cord 
round each pastern, or at least about the knee, and then he can usually 
bring them into the passage. The head is next to be brought forward 
again by means of the cord ; and, the three cords being afterwards 
pulled together, the foetus is extracted. Should the calf have been 
long fixed in the passage, and be evidently much swelled, it is cer- 
tainly dead; the head may then be opened in order to lessen its bulk, 
and the extraction accomplished as before. 

When the feet present, and the head is doubled under the rim of 
the passage, the case is more difficult, and the calf is very rarely 
saved : indeed it may be reckoned to be dead if it has remained in 
this position for any considerable time. Cords are first to be placed 
round the feet; the hand must be afterwards passed into the womb, 
and the situation of the head exactly ascertained, and the cord passed 
round the lower jaw. The calf being then pushed farther back into 
the womb, the head must be brought into the passage, and, the three 
ropes being pulled together, the delivery effected as quickly as may 
be, without the exertion of more force than is necessary. 

The last false presentation I shall mention is that of the breech, 
the tail appearing at the mouth of the shape. The hand is to be 
passed into the uterus, and the cords fastened round each hock. The 
calf is then to be pushed as far back as possible into the womb, and 
the hocks, one after the other, brought into the passage, the ropes 
being shifted as soon as possible to the fetlock. With the exertion 



BEFORE AND DURING CALVING. 75 

of considerable force, the calf may now be extracted, and sometimes 
without serious injury. 

By studying these cases the operator will be enabled to adapt his 
measures to every case of false presentation ; and they are numerous. 
Great force must sometimes be used to effect the extraction of the 
calf. The united efforts of five or six men have been employed, and 
(although such practice can scarcely be defended in any case), a 
horse has sometimes been attached to the cords. The foetus has been 
necessarily destroyed, but the mother has survived : too often, how- 
ever, she has evidently fallen a victim to this unnecessary violence. 
If by the united force of two or three men the foetus cannot be brought 
away, any ruder and more violent attempt must always be fraught 
with danger, and will often be fatal. The safer way for the mother, — 
yet that is attended with considerable risk, — is to cut off some of the 
limbs of the foetus. One or possibly both shoulders may be separated, 
slipped, and then the head and trunk may, without much difficulty, be 
brought away. The knife must be one that can be concealed in the 
hand, and that is hooked at the end, and rounded and thick at the 
back; but, notwithstanding that, there is much danger of wounding 
the womb, which is forcibly pressing on the hand of the operator. 

Labour is not ur.frequently prevented by the diseased state of the 
entrance or neck of the womb, which becomes hard and scirrhous, 
and thus prevents the calf escaping. When this is found by exami- 
nation to be the case, an operation should be performed, which con- 
sists in dividing the contracted entrance by means of a small knife 
passed up, protected by the hand and fingers. Considerable care 
must be exercised so as not to cut too deeply ; and it is better to divide 
the stricture slightly in several places. 

From the violent efforts of the cow, or from unnecessary artificial 
violence, the uterus, or calf -bed, may protrude, and be absolutely in- 
verted. The case is not desperate. The part must be cleaned from 
blood and dirt, and supported by a sheet ; then, the operator beginning 
at the very fundus or bottom of the womb, it may be gradually re- 
turned by the union of some little ingenuity and a great deal of 
patience. The animal should be copiously bled before this is attempt- 
ed, in order to relax the passage; and the application of cold water 
for a considerable time may contract the womb itself, and render its 
return more easy. A stitch or a couple of stitches should be passed 
through the lips of the shape, in order to prevent a repetition of the 
protrusion, and the following anodyne draught administered — 

RECIPE (No. 20). 
Jlnodync Drink. — Take powdered opium, half a drachm; sweet spirit of nitre, two 
ounces. Rub them together, adding the rluid by small quantities at a time, and give 
the mixture in a pint of warm gruel. 

If the cow has calved unseen and unattended, she will, like every 
other quadruped, set diligently to work to devour the cleansing, and 
lick the new-born animal clean. This, however, is often carefully 
prevented when there is the opportunity of so doing. The calf is 



76 TREATMENT OF THE COW, &, C . 

taken immediately away, and the cleansing thrown on the dung-heap. 
We act contrary to nature in this. She would not have given to 
herbivorous animals this propensity to eat the placenta, had not some 
useful purpose been effected by it. Cleanliness was one object, the 
next was either to support the strength of the animal, or to have an 
aperient or salutary influence on her. The mother and the young will 
be happier if they are left to pursue the dictates of nature. Many a 
cow has fretted herself into fatal fever from the sudden loss of her 
little one, and many a calf has died from the neglect of that cleanli- 
ness which the mother could best effect. 

A great deal has been said of the necessity of cleansing the cow 
after calving, or the removal or expulsion of the placenta. There is 
much error in this. The placenta comes away with the calf; and it 
is that natural discharge from the womb, continued during several 
days, and which is observed to a greater or less extent in all quadru- 
peds, that gives the notion of anything being retained. Medicine, 
nevertheless, is necessary in order to prevent that access of fever to 
which the cow in high condition is liable ; but that medicine should 
he administered, not in the form of a stimulating cordial, from the 
false supposition that the animal wants support after the fatigue and 
pain it has undergone, but in that of a purgative, in order to prevent 
an attack of fever to which the animal is so naturally exposed after 
parturition, and which is so often hastened and aggravated by absurd 
management. 

The mother requires little care after calving, except that of protec- 
tion from too great severity of weather, and this more especially if 
she had been much nursed before parturition. A warm mash may be 
given daily for a little while ; but otherwise she may return to her 
previous and not too luxuriant feed. The state of her udder, however, 
should be examined : if it is at all hard, she should be milked twice 
every day, and the calf should be put with her several times in the 
day at least, if not altogether. Perhaps she will not let it suck, espe- 
cially if it is the first calf, on account of the soreness of her teats, and 
her being unaccustomed to the duties of nursing. She must then be 
carefully watched at sucking time, and the bag, if it is very hard and 
kernelly, and sore, must be fomented with warm water, or, if neces- 
sary, the garget ointment (No. 24, p. 69, or No. 27, p. 70) must be 
rubbed into the part principally affected. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE MILK FEVER, OR THE DROP. 

This is a disease almost peculiar to cows in high condition at the 
time of calving: whether young or old, all are liable to be attacked 
by it : they are, however, rarely attacked until after they have had 



MILK FEVER. 77 

several calves ; and it is stated that the short-horned breed is more 
liable to it than others. Whenever it takes place, either at home or 
in the field, it is distressing to the animal, as well as troublesome to 
the owner; for the beast is seldom able to rise during several days. 
The puerperal or milk fever is most frequent during the hot weather 
of summer. The cows most liable to be attacked by this fever have 
large udders, that have been full of milk for several days before 
calving. It is a very dangerous disease when severe, and often proves 
fatal even under the most judicious treatment. 

The milk fever most commonly appears about the second or third 
day after calving; but the cow is occasionally down within a few 
hours after parturition. It is first recognized by the animal refusino- 
her food, looking dull and heavy ; then follows protrusion of the eye, 
heaving of the flanks, restlessness, and every symptom of fever. In 
a few hours, or on the next day at the latest, the cow begins to stag- 
ger ; is weak in the loins ; palsy steals over the whole frame ; and 
she falls, unable to rise again. It is in this advanced stage that the 
complaint is too often first observed ; the previous sj^mptoms are not 
taken notice of, and the beast is almost past cure before the owner is 
aware of her illness. From this seeming palsy of the hinder limbs, 
and sometimes of the whole frame, the disease is very appropriately 
called dropping after calving. 

There are evidently two varieties of this disease, one being consi- 
derably more dangerous than the other. In the severer kind, the 
brain, as well as the spinal marrow, is affected, whilst the milder 
disease is principally confined to the loins. 

In the former kind, we first notice a staggering gait, the breathing- 
then becomes irregular and disturbed, the eyes full and glassy, and 
the pupil dilated. The animal, after reeling about for some time, 
falls, and frequently never rises again. She then becomes, in great 
measure, unconscious; the head is turned on one side; sensation 
appears partially lost, so that, if liquids are given with the horn, they 
often enter the windpipe without occasioning coughing. The hind 
legs become entirely paralyzed, and the fore ones are sometimes 
affected in a similar manner. The pulse is generally very quick, but 
weak; the appetite is altogether lost; rumination ceases; and the 
bowels are obstinately constipated. If the animal dies, it is generally 
within forty-eight hours from the commencement of the symptoms, 
and indeed sometimes only a few hours afterwards. In some cases, 
the animal will lie in a state of insensibility ; in others, she exhibits 
considerable pain and distress. The cow is unable to discharge either 
her urine or dung, the nerves influencing these offices being paralyzed. 
On examining the bodies of cows that have died from this disease, 
the principal mischief has been found in the brain and spinal cord : 
in the latter, chiefly at the region of the loins. The womb, in the 
greater number of instances, has been found in the same state as it 
usually is after parturition ; but, in some cases, it presents the ap- 
pearance of the most intense inflammation. In such cases, it appears 
7* 



78 MILK FEVER. 

that the inflammation of the womb is superadded to the other dis- 
ease. 

In the milder form of this complaint, it is, to a greater extent, a 
local malady : the spinal cord at the region of the loins is affected ; 
but the brain is comparatively exempt; and thus, though the hind 
extremities are paralyzed to a great extent, yet the insensibility is by 
no means general, and consciousness is retained. In both the severe 
and mild form the digestive organs are altogether deranged, and in 
fatal cases the third stomach is found loaded with hard indigestible 
food, and the other viscera are often found inflamed. 

The cause of the disease has not been ascertained, but it appears 
connected with a high state of condition, and is best prevented by 
keeping the cow short of food some days previous to her calving. 

The treatment of this disease must be modified according to the 
severity of the symptoms, and the fact of its being the milder or the 
severer affection. It is important also to ascertain whether the secre- 
tion of milk has ceased ; as it has been ascertained that when this is 
the case the disease is fatal, and when not so the cow recovers. If 
the pulse is strong, it will be proper to bleed to the extent, perhaps, 
of four or five quarts. The principal expectation of relief, however, 
must be placed on the exhibition of powerful purgatives. 

RECIPE (No. 30). 
Take Epsom or Glauber's salts, twelve ounces; flour of sulphur, four ounces; 
powdered ginger, four drachms ; spirit of nitrous ether, one ounce. To be dissolved 
in warm water. 

One-half of this draught may be repeated twice a day until the 
bowels are properly opened. In the severer affection it will be proper 
to add from ten to twenty drops of the croton oil to the first draught, 
and even two drachms of carbonate of ammonia and ten grains of 
cantharides have been conjoined with advantage. It is of importance 
to administer the draught slowly and carefully ; and when the cow is 
any way unconscious it will be better to give it by means of Read's 
syringe, putting the tube half-way down the neck, so as to prevent 
any of the medicine getting into the windpipe, where it has been 
known to produce fatal inflammation. The action of the physic should 
be assisted by frequent clysters, and the bladder should be emptied 
from time to time by a catheter. A blistering liniment should be 
rubbed on the course of the spine : in the milder disease it may be 
limited chiefly to the loins, but in the severer affection it should ex- 
tend from the head to the tail, and be often repeated. It is astonishing 
what avast quantity of purgative medicine may often be administered 
in this disease without producing any effect, the stomachs being in 
such a torpid state. 

In the milder disease, the treatment must be similar in its nature, 
though not so powerful as that here recommended ; the croton oil 
may be dispensed with, and the blistering application confined to 
the loins. 

The cow should be made as comfortable as possible. A good bed 



MILK FEVER. 79 

of straw should be got under her, and her fore-quarters should be 
considerably raised, so that the dung and urine may flow away. It 
not unfrequentty happens, that as soon as the cow begins thoroughly 
to purge she gets up and walks about, although still continuing for a 
while in a very weak state. 

In order to make her as comfortable as possible, the cow should be 
shifted from side to side twice in the day; all filth of every kind 
should be carefully removed, a warm cloth thrown over, and warm 
gruel or linseed-tea frequently offered to her with mashes, if she will 
eat them. 

It will be a very bad symptom if she begins to swell, and there are 
frequent belchings of very foetid gas. If the digestive powers are thus 
weakened there is but little hope. The following ball should then be 
given, still continuing the purgative medicine if necessary : — 

RECIPE (No. 31). 

Cordial Drink.— Take caraway powder, one ounce: gentian, powdered, half an 
ounce ; ginger, powdered, half an ounce ; essence of peppermint, 20 drops. 

This, in the form of a ball, will probably find its way into the paunch. 
Half the quantity of the above ingredients should also be given morn- 
ing and night as a drink, in a pint of warm ale, and the same quantity 
of thin gruel. 

If the cow should continue to swell, relief must be obtained by 
means of the flexible pipe for that purpose; and, if the proprietor has 
the pump which should accompany the pipe, some gallons of warm 
water in which a little ginger has been boiled may be thrown into 
the paunch, in order to wash out a portion of its contents. Should 
not the pipe be at hand, an opening may be made into the paunch at 
the flank with a sharp-pointed knife, in the usual manner; or, if the 
case is becoming absolutely desperate, the operator will be justified 
in enlarging the opening so as to admit the hand, and gradually take 
out the greater part of the undigested food. The edges of the wound 
should then be brought together and held by two or three stitches, 
the divided skin and the wall of the paunch being included in each 
stitch. 

There is one thing that should not be omitted, and that is the at- 
tempt, two or three times every day, to bring back the milk, by dili- 
gently stroking the teats.. As the drying up of the milk is the earliest 
symptom of the attack of the disease, so the return of it is the happiest 
promise of recovery. 

If the cow does not get up on the third or fourth day, there is but 
little chance that she ever will. The case, however, should not be 
abandoned, for she has done well even after the fourteenth day. 

If the udder is hard and knotty the camphorated oil (No. 11, p. 53) 
should be well rubbed over it twice every day ; and if it is very hot 
and tender, fomentations of warm water should be used, but no cold 
lotion is admissible in such a case. 

As the cow is frequently unwilling, and sometimes unable, to take 



80 THE BLAIN, &C. 

sufficient nutriment herself, some nutritious food should be horned in; 
and there is nothing better than good thick gruel. Two or three quarts 
given four times every day will be enough. All sweet things, which 
farmers are so apt to give, should be omitted ; the food in the paunch 
is sufficiently ready to ferment, without giving any sugar. 

A cow labouring under milk fever should scarcely ever be left. She 
naturally gets very tired of coughing so long, and sometimes attempts 
to shift herself, and would get sadly bruised if assistance were not 
afforded ; besides which, in the early stage of the disease, and occa- 
sionally afterwards, there is some affection of the brain, and the 
animal is half unconscious of what she does, and would beat herself 
dangerously about if care were not taken of her. 

I must again repeat that prevention is better than cure ; and that 
the best preventive of milk fever is not to let her be in too high con- 
dition, but to take four or five quarts of blood from her, and give her 
a physic drink eight or ten days before the expected time of calving. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE BLAIN, &C. 

This is by no means an unfrequent disease, and is commonly known 
by the name of b/ain, hawkes, or gargyse. 

The animal appears dull and languid, the eyes red and inflamed, 
with tears trickling from them. A swelling begins about the eyes, 
and occasionally appears on other parts of the body ; but the charac- 
teristic symptom is that there are generally blisters under the tongue, 
or at the back part of the mouth ; the pulse is quicker than natural; 
there is more or less heaving of the flanks; and the bowels are some- 
times constipated. When the complaint is not checked at the onset, 
there is often a copious flow of saliva from the mouth, mixed often 
with a purulent, bloody, stinking discharge ; the beast becomes ex- 
tremely weak and reduced, and is in danger of being suffocated by 
the great and rapid enlargement of the tongue. 

Causes. — Those cattle are the most subject to this complaint that 
are in high condition, and feeding on rich pasture grounds. It ap- 
pears in many cases to be brought on by a redundancy of blood in 
the system, or from the beast taking cold while in that state. It is 
most prevalent in the summer months, especially when the weather 
is hot and sultry, but it occurs at all times of the year, and in pastures 
of every kind, yet oftenest in low, marshy situations. 

This is a disease which must not be trifled with for a moment. I 
have known it prove fatal in the course of one day; and when ne- 
glected at the beginning it has speedily assumed a malignant charac- 
ter, which baffled every attempt to arrest its progress. 



THE BLAIN, &C. 81 

The remedy, and often a very expeditious one for this disease, is to 
cat deeply, and from end to end, the bladders that will be found along 
the side of and under the tongue. They will appear to be filled with 
a glutinous matter, and, although there may not be much bleeding 
from them at first, considerable bloody fluid will gradually ooze out, 
the swelling of the mouth and head will subside, and the beast will 
be very much relieved. All the curious operations of thrusting sticks 
and tar down the throat have this for their object, to break these 
bladders, but which is most easily and completely effected by the 
knife. 

If, however, much fever has accompanied the enlargement of the 
tongue, it will be prudent to take away five or six quarts of blood, 
and to give a physic drink, and particularly if, on the day following 
the operation, the beast should continue to be feverish. The mouth 
may likewise be washed with a solution of the chloride of lime in 
water, in the proportions of one drachm «f the powdered chloride to a 
quart of water, while the mouth is very offensive; and with equal 
parts of tincture of myrrh and water afterwards, in order to promote 
the healing of the ulcer. 

If the fever continues, the fever drink (No. 1, p. 46) may be given 
morning and night, and the bowels kept open by the purging drinks 
(No. 2 or 7, p. 47 and 52). 

Should considerable weakness and loss of appetite remain when 
the fever seems to be subdued, the following tonic drink may be - 
given: — 

RECIPE (No. 32). 

Tonic Drink. — Take gentian, two drachms ; tartrate of iron, one drachm ; ginger, 
one drachm. Mix, and give in a pint of gruel. 

This may be repeated daily, or twice a day, as circumstances may 
require. 

It will sometimes happen that the animal w r ill for some days refuse 
to eat, on account of the soreness of the mouth. Thin gruel should 
be always placed within his reach, and plenty of thick gruel admi- 
nistered with the horn. 

The person who has to attend on cattle that have the blain should 
take care that none of the discharge from the mouth comes in contact 
with any sore place, for very troublesome ulcers have been produced 
by this means. If there is any fear that a sore place has been thus 
inoculated, the lunar caustic should be applied to it. 



82 THE BLOOD, &C. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE BLOOD, BLOOD-STRIKING, BLACK-LEG, QUARTER EVIL, OR BLACK- 
QUARTER. 

The disease wnich I am now to describe is indicated by these 
curious names, and a great many more, in various parts of the country. 
Very few of these names, however, are misplaced, for they indicate 
some variety, or symptoms, or stage of this dreadful malady. It 
would be much better recognized by the title of Inflammatory Fever. 

Its attack is confined almost entirely to animals that are in high 
condition, or rapidly improving; I should say, too high condition, 
and too rapidly improving. »In some instances the disease will give 
some warning of its approach, but, generally, the beast appears to be 
to-day perfectly well, and to-morrow he will be found with his head 
extended, his flanks heaving, his breath hot, his eyes protruding, his 
muzzle dry, his pulse quick and hard — every symptom, in short, of 
the highest state of fever. He utters a low and distressing moaning ; 
he is already half unconscious ; he will stand for hours together 
motionless, or if he moves, or is compelled to move, there is a pecu- 
liar staggering referrible to the hind limbs, and generally one of them 
more than the other: by and by he gets uneasy, he shifts his weight 
from foot to foot, he paws faintly, and then lies down. He rises, but 
almost immediately drops again. He now begins to be, or has already 
been, nearly unconscious of surrounding objects. 

There are many other symptoms from which the different names 
of the disease arose. On the back or loins, or over one of the quar- 
ters, there is more or less swelling; if felt when it first appears it is 
hot, and tender, and firm, but it soon begins to yield to the touch, 
and gives a singular crackling noise when pressed upon. One of the 
limbs likewise enlarges, sometimes through its whole extent, and 
that enormously. It, too, is at first firm, and hot and tender, but it 
soon afterwards becomes soft and flabby, or pits when pressed upon, 
i. e., the indentation of the finger remains. When examined after 
death, that limb is full of red putrid fluid : it is mortified, and seems 
to have been putrefying almost during the life of the beast. Large 
ulcers break out in this limb, and sometimes in other parts of the 
body, and almost immediately become gangrenous; pieces of several 
pounds in weight have sloughed away ; three-fourths of the udder 
have dropped off, or have been so gangrenous that it was necessary 
to remove them, and the animal has been one mass of ulceration. 
The breath stinks horribly; a very offensive, and sometimes purulent 
and bloody fluid runs from the mouth ; the urine is high-coloured or 
bloody, and the faeces are also streaked with blood, and the smell 
from them is scarcely supportable. 



THE BLOOD, &C. 83 

In this state the beast will sometimes continue two or three days, 
at other times he will die in less than twelve hours from the first 
attack. In a few instances, however, and when the disease has been 
early and properly treated, all these dreadful symptoms gradually 
disappear, and the animal recovers. 

Although much evil has resulted from the putrefied carcases of the 
beasts that have died of inflammatory fever being suffered to lie about, 
yet it does not appear that there is anything infectious in the disease. 
It is true that if one bullock en a farm dies of the blood, many will 
usually follow; but it is only because they have been exposed to the 
same exciting cause. Fortunately, also, for the farmer, it is almost 
confined to young cattle. Those that are between one and two years 
old are most subject to it ; but some of three and four years are occa- 
sionally attacked by it, and I have seen others of double that age die 
under it. Milch cows, or lean cattle, are in a manner exempt from it. 

It is to a redundancy, or overflowing 06 the blood, the consequence 
of the sudden change from bad to good living, that this disease most 
commonly owes its origin. It is most prevalent in the latter part of 
the spring and in the autumn ; and very often, at those seasons of the 
year, proves destructive to great numbers of young cattle in different 
parts of the kingdom. It is sometimes, however, seen in the winter 
and the early part of the spring, when the cattle are feeding on tur- 
nips. Some situations are more subject to this complaint than others. 
It is most frequent in low, marshy grounds, and pastures situated by 
the side of woods. 

It is a disorder of high condition and over-feeding. The times of 
the year and the character of the cattle prove this. It occurs in the 
latter part of the spring, when the grass is most luxuriant and nutri- 
tive, and the autumn, w T hen we have the second flush of grass; and 
the animals attacked are those principally that are undergoing the 
process of fattening, and that have somewhat too suddenly been re- 
moved from scanty pasturage and low feeding to a profusion of herb- 
age, and that of a nutritious and stimulating kind. The disease 
sometimes occurs when the cattle have been moved from one pasturage 
to another on the same farm ; but more so when they have been 
brought from poor land, at a distance, to a richer soil. There are in 
the latter case two preparatory causes, — the previous poverty, and 
the fatigue and exhaustion of the journey. 

Farmers may endeavour to account for it, if they please, from their 
beasts having fed on certain acrimonious or poisonous plants, as the 
different species of the crowfoot, or some others ; but there cannot be 
a moment's doubt that the evil is to be traced to their own bad ma- 
nagement, and to that almost alone. I will not say that there may 
not be some atmospheric agency. The blood is much more prevalent 
in some years than in others, and more fatal when it does occur; but 
if the fact is carefully examined, rapid vegetation has then succeeded 
to a cold and thriftless season, and thus the causes of which I have 
spoken have been more powerfully called into action, while the influ- 



84 THE BLOOD, &C. 

ence of the atmosphere may have materially modified the character 
of the disease after it had been produced. 

In examining cattle that die of this complaint the affected part or 
parts are found mortified, and emit a peculiar cadaverous smell; and 
there is a glutinous or bloody ichorous fluid of a very offensive smell 
between the skin and flesh. In two instances I found the membranes 
of the brain mortified, being here and there of a livid colour, and 
easily torn. 

This disease rarely admits of cure, but fortunately it may in general 
be prevented. If the malady is discovered as soon as it makes its 
appearance, the beast should be immediately housed, and then from 
four to eight quarts of blood taken away, according to the age and 
size. Two hours after bleeding give the following purging drink 
(No. 2, p. 47), which will be found of a proper strength for young 
cattle from the age of one to two years. 

The bleeding should be repeated in three or four hours, if the 
animal is not materially relieved ; and a third bleeding must follow 
the second, if the fever is unabated. There must be no child's play 
here ; the disease must be knocked down at once, or it will inevitably 
destroy the beast. The physic likewise must be repeated until it has 
its full effect. 

As soon as the bowels are well opened, the fever drink (No. 1, p. 
46) ehould be administered, and repeated morning, noon, and night, 
all food except a little mash being removed. 

At the first appearance of the disease, the part principally affected 
should be fomented several times in the course of the day with hot 
water, and for at least an hour each lime. For this purpose there 
should be two or three large pieces of flannel in the water, that after 
one of them has been applied thoroughly hot and dripping to the part 
affected, another equally hot may be ready when this gets cold. 

As soon as the fever begins evidently to subside, and the beast is 
more himself, and eats a little, the fever medicine must not be pushed 
too far. It should be remembered that this is a case of highly in- 
flammatory disease, which soon passes over, and is often succeeded 
by debility almost as dangerous as the fever. The ox, therefore, must 
not be too much lowered ; but, the fever abating, the following min- 
gled tonic and fever medicine should be given : — 

RECIPE (No. 33). 
Mildest Tonic Drink.— Take gentian, two drachms ; emetic tartar, half a drachm ; 
nitre, half an ounce; spirit of nitrous ether, half an ounce. Give in gruel. 

If this does not bring back the fever, it may be safely continued 
once every day until the ox is well; or the quantities of the gentian 
may be increased, and the emetic tartar lessened, and at length alto- 
gether omitted, the nitre being still retained. 

A seton (of black hellebore root if it can be procured) should be 
inserted into the dewlap ; and, if the beast can be moved, it should 
be driven to much scantier pasture. 

Should not the disease be discovered until there is considerable 



THE BLOOD, &C. 85 

swelling-, and a crackling noise in some tumefied part, a cure is seldom 
effected. Bleeding, at this stage of the complaint, can seldom be 
resorted to, or, at least, one moderate bleeding only should be prac- 
tised, in order to subdue any lurking fever that may remain. If a 
cure is in these cases attempted, the drink No. 13, p. 54, should be 
given, which may invigorate the system by its cordial and tonic 
powers, and prevent ihe mortification extending. 

The swelled parts should be frequently bathed with equal portions 
of vinegar and spirits of wine, made as hot as the hand will bear; or, 
if ulceration seems to be approaching, slight incisions should be 
effected along the whole extent of the swelling, and the part bathed 
with spirit of turpentine made hot. 

If ulceration has commenced, accompanied by the peculiar fcetor 
that attends the disease, the wounds should be first bathed with a 
disinfectant lotion. 

RECIPE (No. 34). 

Disinfectant Lotion. — Take solution of chloride of lime in powder, a quarter of an 
ounce; water, a pint. Mix. 

The hot spirit of turpentine should be applied immediately after 
this, and continued in use until either the mortified parts have slough- 
ed off, or the sore begins to have a healthy appearance. The tincture 
of aloes or Friar's balsam may then follow. 

Since so little can be done in the way of cure, we next anxiously 
inquire whether there is any mode of prevention. The account which 
I have given of the disease immediately suggests the prevention, viz., 
to beware of these sudden changes of pasture; now and then to take 
a little blood from, or to give a dose of physic to, those beasts that 
are thriving unusually rapidly, and, whenever the disease breaks out 
on the farm, to bleed and to purge, and remove to shorter and scantier 
feed every animal that has been exposed to the same exciting causes 
with those that have been attacked. The farmer should be particu- 
larly watchful during the latter part of the spring and the beginning 
of the autumn : he may thus save many a beast, and the bleeding and 
the physic will not arrest, but rather assist their improvement. He 
who will not attend to a simple rule like this will deserve the loss 
that he may experience. 



CHAPTER XX. 

MURRAIN, ORPESTILENTIAL FEVER. 

This is not the fever which I have just described, more rapidly, 
and to a greater extent, assuming the typhoid and malignant form, 
although there is a considerable similarity between the diseases, but 
it is distinguished by some peculiar and fatal characters. It has from 
time to time destroyed immense numbers of cattle on every part of 



86 MURRAIN, OR PESTILENTIAL FEVER. 

the continent of Europe. Its ravages have sometimes been dreadful 
in Great Britain. In the spring of the year 1714 more than 70,000 
cattle died of this pest in England. 

Fortunately of late years this destructive malady has been compa- 
ratively unknown among us, except that in some unfavourable dis- 
tricts a few cases have occurred every year. Its latest visitation, 
clothed with all its most dreadful attributes, was in 1768. It is thus 
described by Dr. Layard, an intelligent physician of that period : — 
" The animal was found with its head extended, that its laborious 
breathing might be accomplished with less dread of suffocation; 
there was considerable difficulty in swallowing; enlargement of the 
glands under the ear, and frequently swelling of the whole of the 
head ; uneasiness about the head ; seemingly itchiness about the 
ears; dulness; frequent, but not violent heaving. To these succeeded 
staggering and great debility, until the animal fell, and was after- 
wards either unable to stand long at a time, or to stand at all. A 
constant discharge of green bilious stinking freces now appeared ; the 
breath was likewise offensive; the very perspiration was sour and 
putrid ; the head swelled rapidly ; the tongue protruded from the 
mouth; and the saliva, at first stinking, but afterwards purulent, 
bloody, and more and more offensive, flowed from the mouth. A 
crackling was heard under the skin when the back or loins were 
pressed upon; tumours appeared, and abscesses were formed in va- 
rious parts ; they multiplied and they spread, and discharged a dread- 
fully stinking fluid. 

" By and by a fresh access of fever seemed to supervene ; the 
breath got hot, and the extremities were cold; the purging increased, 
and was even more offensive; the urine and the dung excoriated the 
neighbouring 1 parts as they passed away ; and on the seventh or ninth 
day the animal usually died." 

If a milch cow was attacked her milk dried up gradually, her 
purging was more violent, and her debility more rapid than that of 
other cattle. Bulls and oxen were not so violently seized as cow3 
and calves ; and cows with calf, and weakly cow-calves, were most 
in danger. If cows slipped their calves they usually recovered. 
Calves received the infection from the cow, and the calf, on the other 
hand, often infected the cow. 

The disease was epidemic. It depended on some atmospheric in- 
fluence, which we are unable to understand ; but at the same time it 
was contagious, and that to a very great degree. If it once appeared 
on a farm, almost all the cattle were sure to be affected : yet it was 
ascertained that the power of infection did not extend more than a 
few yards; and that a hedge alone often. separated the dead from the 
living. The murrain seemed mostly confined to cattle, for horses 
and sheep, and swine and dogs, lived in the midst of the infection 
and escaped, and even some neat cattle seemed to possess a security 
from infection. 

The favourable symptoms were eruptions on various parts of the 



MURRAIN, OR PESTILENTIAL FEVER. 87 

body, not indeed too numerous, and their breaking and discharging a 
considerable quantity of purulent matter. If from exposure to cold, 
or other improper treatment, the boils were repelled, or if they gra- - 
dually lessened and disappeared, death was an almost inevitable 
consequence. If the dung became more consistent, and the urine not 
so highly coloured, and the mouth cooler, and the beast began to 
brighten up, and look a little cheerfully around him, there was hope ; 
but if the boils receded, and the scouring became constant, and the 
breath was hot, and the horns were cold, and the difficulty of breathing 
increased, and the animal groaned at every motion ; if the eye sunk, 
and the pulse intermitted, and the beast was almost unconscious, 
and a cadaverous smell proceeded from him, it was seldom that he 
escaped. 

On examination after death, the whole of the cellular texture under 
the skin was found to be distended either by air or a sanious fluid, 
and in most cases partly by both. The air rushed out when the skin 
was punctured, and stunk most abominably ; and the cellular texture 
and the muscles were rendered livid and black by the dark fluid which 
they contained. The brain and its membranes were inflamed, and 
the ventricles filled and distended. The mouth and nose, and fauces 
and throat, and the frontal sinuses to the very tip of the horn, were 
filled with ulcerations and with pus. The lungs were inflamed in 
patches, and filled with tubercles. The liver was large, and so rotten 
that it was torn by the slightest touch. All the vessels of the liver 
and the gall-bladder were gorged with greenish fetid bile. The 
paunch was distended with wind, and undigested and, generally, 
hardened food. The third stomach contained between its leaves a 
quantity of dry and hardened food, so hard and brittle that it might 
be almost powdered; and the fourth stomach, or rennet bag, was 
empty, but highly inflamed and gangrened in various places. The 
intestines were also beset with livid and black spots. The uterus 
of those that were in calf was gangrened, and the smell from the fluid 
which it contained was almost insufferable. 

It seemed to be a high degree of fever, which had speedily run on 
to a typhoid and malignant form, and by which every part of the 
frame was poisoned. 

We have not for a long while been visited to any great extent by 
this malady, and should it again occur, the veterinary art is far more 
advanced than it was many years ago, and there is reason to hope 
that it would not be so destructive as in times past. 

The treatment would be, first, and the most important thing of all, 
to separate the diseased from the sound : to remove every animal that 
seemed to be in the slightest degree affected to some isolated portion 
of the farm where contact with others would be impossible. It would, 
be imprudent to remove those that appeared to be unaffected, because 
it would be impossible to know that the virus did not lurk in their 
veins, and thus the poison might be conveyed to other parts of the 



88 MURRAIN, OR PESTILENTIAL FEVER. 

farm. The sick only should be taken away, and that as speedily as 
possible. 

In the early stage of the disease there can be no doubt of the pro- 
priety of bleeding. The fever, which, according to every account, 
characterises the first attack, should, if possible, be subdued ; other- 
wise its prolonged existence would aggravate, if it did not cause, the 
subsequent debility. The animal should be bled, in proportion to his 
size, condition, and the degree of fever : he should be bled, in fact, 
until the pulse bep-an to falter or he beo-an to stao-o-er. The blood 
should be taken in as full a stream as possible, that the constitution 
might be more speedily and beneficially affected. When the blood 
flows slowly, a quantity may sometimes be taken away before the 
animal begins to feel it, the loss of which would afterwards produce 
alarming debility; but if the blood flows freely, the beast will show 
symptoms of faintness — the effect w r e wish to produce — before one- 
fourth of the quantity is drawn that would be lost if it ran in a slow 
stream. We want to attack and subdue the fever, without under- 
mining the strength of the frame. 

Then we should with great propriety administer a brisk purgative. 
If fetid and obstinate purging so soon follows, we should be anxious 
to get rid, if we can do so, of a portion of the offending matter; and 
therefore a pound or twenty ounces of Epsom salts should be given 
in a sufficient quantity of thin gruel. 

Next, as it is a disease so much and so early characterised by de- 
bility, we should attend to the diet. Green succulent grass would 
scarcely be allowed, because it would probably not a little increase 
the purging; but mashes of bran, with a little bean-meal, carrots, or 
sweet old hay, should be given in moderate quantities. The animal 
should be coaxed to eat ; for it is necessary that the constitution be 
supported against the debilitating influence of such a disease. The 
animal should not be at first drenched, for this might produce nausea 
and disgust for food ; but if two or three days should pass, and the 
beast should obstinately refuse to eat, plenty of warm thick gruel 
must be forced upon him. As for medicine, I scarcely know what to 
advise. The fact stands too clearly upon record, that nineteen animals 
out of twenty, seized with the murrain, have died. That on which I 
should put most dependence would be the following : — 

RECIPE (No. 35). 

Drink for Murrain.— Take sweet spirit of nitre, half an ounce ; laudanum, half 
an ounce ; chloride of lime, in powder, two ounces; prepared chalk, an ounce. Rub 
them well together, and give them with a pint of warm gruel. 

This may be repeated every six hours, until the purging is consi- 
derably abated ; but should not be continued until it has quite 
stopped. 

The purging being abated, we must look about for something to 
recall the appetite and recruit the strength, and I do not know any- 
thing better than the following : — 



MURRAIN, OR PESTILENTIAL FEVER. 89 

RECIPE (No. 36). 
Tonic Drink for Murrain. — Take columha root, two drachms; canella bark, two 
drachms ; ginger, one drachm ; sweet spirit of nitre, half an ounce. Rub them toge- 
ther, and give in a pint of thick gruel. 

There cannot be a more proper means adopted than a seton in the 
dewlap, made with the black hellebore root. The mouth should be 
frequently washed with a dilute solution of the chloride of lime. The 
ulcerated parts, if they are fetid, should have the same, disinfectant 
applied to them, -and the walls and ceiling, and every part of the cow- 
house, should be washed with it. 

One caution should be used with respect to the food; while the 
beast should be coaxed to eat, in order to support him under the de- 
bilitating influence of the disease, it is only on the supposition that 
he ruminates his food. Until he begins again to chew the cud, we 
are only injuriously overloading the paunch by enticing the animal to 
eat. Until rumination is re-established, the food should consist of 
gruel, or any other nutritive fluid, and should be so administered that 
the greater part of it may pass on into the fourth stomach, without 
entering the first. When the animal appears to be recovering, he 
should be gradually exposed to cool and open air, and very slowly 
permitted to return to his usual food. 

When the disease is quite subdued, the cleansing of the cow-house 
should be seriously undertaken, and thoroughly accomplished. Let 
every portion of filth and dung be carefully removed, the walls, and 
the wood-work, and the floor carefully washed with water, or soap 
and water, and then every part washed again with a lotion, in the 
proportion of a quarter of a pound of the chloride of lime, in powder, 
to a bucket of water. This will be better than any fumigation that 
can be possibly applied. Should, however, the chloride of lime not 
be at hand, then a simple and cheap fumigation, on which very con- 
siderable dependence can be placed, may be resorted to. 

RECIPE (No. 37). 
Fumigation. — Take common salt, two pounds; oil of vitriol, one pound. 

The salt should be put in an earthen vessel, and placed in the 
middle of the cow-house, and the oil of vitriol gradually poured upon 
it. They should be stirred well together with a stick, and the person 
preparing the thing should retreat as quickly as he can, to prevent 
himself from suffering by the fumes of the chloride, closing the door 
carefully after him, every window and aperture having been previously 
closed. In a few hours he may enter the cow r -house again, and remove 
the vessel without any serious inconvenience. 

There is every reason to hope that the murrain will never again 
thin our herds of cattle to any great extent, not only because veteri- 
nary science is so much advanced, and the farmer can have imme- 
diate recourse to the assistance of a skilful practitioner, but because 
agriculture has been so much improved within the last century, and 
particularly that important and most beneficial system of under- 
8* 



90 MURRAIN, OR PESTILENTIAL FEVER. 

draining has been introduced. When the murrain so sadly prevailed 
in foreign countries, and in England, it uniformly commenced in, and 
was chiefly confined to, some low marshy district. This was parti- 
cularly the case in the murrain which prevailed in France in 1779. 
It was principally confined to the low meadows and marshes, and it 
appeared soon after an unusual inundation had subsided. In Italy, 
where the murrain has been more prevalent and fatal than in any 
other country, it always commences in some of the extensive and 
pestilential marshes with which the Italian coast abounds. In the 
account of a pestilence that carried off thousands of cattle in Hun- 
gary, it is said that the spring had been rainy, w r ith great changes in 
the temperature of the atmosphere. This will afford a useful hint to 
the farmer as to the system of agriculture he should pursue, and the 
situation to which he should, if possible, remove his cattle when any 
pestilential disease breaks out. The infected cattle, and the herd 
generally, should not only be removed to some rather elevated and 
dry situation, but sheltered as much as possible from the sudden 
variations of the external air, at least by night. 

It is to be hoped, too, that some legislative provision will be made 
to prevent as much as possible the spread of the disease ; that every 
animal seriously affected shall be immediately consigned to the 
slaughter, and that no portion of the hide or carcass shall by any 
means be permitted to be used, but the whole deeply and speedily 
buried. 

When the murrain was so prevalent in Holland, and it seemed as 
if every beast was destined to fall a victim to it, some speculative 
men had recourse to inoculation. The matter discharged from the 
nostrils, or from an ulcer of a beast not apparently affected with any 
very virulent form of the disease, was inserted under the skin of a 
sound animal. The disease was produced, sure enough, but with 
very doubtful and often lamentable effect. In some cases a worse 
malady was induced. In a few it was materially mitigated ; a consi- 
derable proportion still died, and doubtless some w r ho would have 
escaped the disease had it not been for the inoculation. 

[Extract of a letter to the American Editor from J. E. G. Kennedy, Meadville, Penn- 
sylvania. 
" I received some months since, from a Hollander who purchased a farm a few 
years since in my neighbourhood, some powders for the cure of murrain in cattle. 
After having resided here a few years, the frequency of this disease induced him to 
Bend to Holland for the medicine mentioned, and which he avers was a certain 
remedy there within his own knowledge. The receipt for its manufacture is a secret, 
and lodged with one family in the Hague. Its reputation in Holland is very exten- 
sive. Mr. Koehler, who gave me the article, is a remarkably intelligent man, noted 
for his correct agricultural taste and knowledge among his friends, and I perfectly 
rely on his veracity. He would say nothing that he did not believe true; and as a 
proof of his standing in his own country, I might mention his having received, from 
a nobleman of Holland an invitation to become the manager of an extensive estate 
in that country, and the inducement such, that he has rented his farm and gone to 



EPIDEMIC OF 1840 AND 1841. 91 

Holland with his family. Before Mr. Kcehler left this country he gave me some of the 
powders, and I have thought that possibly the chief ingredients might be detected by 
the experiments of an accomplished chemist. If you will undertake the task of 
having them submitted to the tests of such a person, I will send you a sufficient 
quantity to make trial with. If the experiments should result successfully, and the 
medicine prove valuable, the labour would be well expended, as I know of no certain 
or plausible cure for murrain in cattle, a disease occasioning the loss of thousands 
annually in this country. The principal part of the article (whether the virtuous 
portion or not I cannot say) is mineral — judging from the weight." 

Another extract. — ' I send you two papers of the murrain powder, being two doses. 
For fear of mistake I wrote the directions on them when I received them." 

The two powders were placed in the hands of Professor Benjamin Hallowell— as 
eminent for scientific attainments as he is remarkable for simplicity of manners and 
benevolence of heart. In a few days he was good enough to return the powder, with 
an exact duplicate of it, and the following memorandum : — "The powder contains 
380 grains; it is composed of 340 grains of nitrate of potash (salt-petre) and 40 grains 
of bole armenian intimately mixed" — be it remembered that the above quantity 
makes two doses — and the directions are: "dissolve in a pint of water." It will be 
easy to try a remedy so strongly and plausibly recommended ; and, if found effectual, 
the public will owe an obligation to all who may assist in diffusing a knowledge 
of it. 

Thus we come at the following recipe for murrain:— Take nitrate of potash, 170 
grains ; bole armenian, 20 grains. Dissolve in a pint of water, and give. — S.] 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE EPIDEMIC OF 18 4 AND 1841. 

Since the last edition of this work was published a new disease 
has appeared amongst cattle and sheep, and for the last two years it 
has spread through the kingdom as an epidemic, scarcely sparing a 
single parish from its visitation. Though not by any means usually 
fatal in its effects, it has yet altogether destroyed a great number, 
and the pecuniary loss has been still greater from the debilitating 
effects which it has produced or left behind. It has been proved to 
be extremely infectious, and it is difficult to say whether the greater 
number of cases have been thus produced or spontaneously occasioned. 
It has sometimes appeared amongst the cattle of a farm, scarcely 
sparing a single case; and again, after some months' absence, it has 
re-appeared on the same farm amongst the sheep, or perhaps the 
swine. In some cases, and on some occasions, the symptoms of the 
disease have been very slight, and the cases have soon got well with- 
out any medical treatment; but in other cases the symptoms have 
been extremely severe, and attended with danger. It has usually 
happened that the earlier and the later cases have been somewhat 
slight, and the middle ones much more dangerous. In this respect it 



92 EPIDEMIC OF 1840 AND 1841. 

has resembled other epidemics. The cause of this disease is altoge- 
ther unknown: it is probably owing to some atmospheric agency, 
the nature of which it is impossible to ascertain. 

The disease is decidedly constitutional, though manifesting itself 
locally in a peculiar manner: its nature is that of a low fever, great 
debility quickly supervening, and sometimes exhibiting a tendency to 
putridity. If the very earliest symptoms are observed, it will gener- 
ally be found that cold extremities, a staring coat, and indeed a cold 
fit is exhibited; but a reaction soon follows, in which the limbs be- 
come hot, and then saliva issues from the mouth, and the tongue is 
somewhat swollen. At the same time some degree of tenderness in 
the feet is manifested, and the pulse is quickened and the beast is 
altogether feverish. The soreness of the mouth and feet increases, 
small bladders are found on the tongue, the lips and other parts of 
the mouth, and likewise between the hoofs, and sometimes also on 
the teats. The animal gradually ceases to feed, from the pain expe- 
rienced in the act, and sometimes the appetite itself fails. The blad- 
ders become opaque, and at length burst and discharge a watery 
fluid ; and this increases the soreness of the parts. The flow of saliva 
increases, and in a few days the cuticle sloughs off. Sometimes there 
are swellings along the back and loins, which appear to contain air. 
The disease thus continues, becoming gradually more severe until 
four or five days from the commencement, when amendment generally 
takes place, and the beast gradually recovers. Sometimes, however, 
the complaint becomes complicated w T ith inflammation of some organ 
— such as the lungs, and the danger is then much greater, or it may 
take on a low typhoid form, under which the animal may sink. In 
milch cows the udder is often affected, occasionally much inflamed, 
and attended with danger. 

The treatment of this disease must be moderate in its character, and 
should consist in checking the fever, relaxing the bowels, healing the 
sores on the mouth and feet, and afterwards assisting the strength 
with tonics. 

Bleeding should in general be abstained from, unless there is some 

severe local inflammation present, calculated to increase the debility; 

but the following laxative should be administered without loss of 

time: — 

RECIPE (No. 38). 

Take epsom salts, half a pound ; sulphur, two or four ounces ; nitre, half an ounce ; 
ginger, two drachms; spirit of nitrous ether, one ounce. Dissolved in warm water 
or gruel, and repeated once a day for several days. 

The following liniment may be applied to the mouth several times 

a day : — 

RECIPE (No. 39). 

Take alum and white vitriol, of each half an ounce ; treacle, a quarter of a pint. 
Dissolved in a pint of warm water. 

The feet should be carefully pared, and if much inflamed a poultice 
may be applied ; but if not so, and there is a sore, equal parts of 



EPIDEMIC OF 1840 AND 1841. 93 

tincture of myrrh and butyr of antimony. One application of this 
caustic is generally sufficient, and the sore should afterwards be 
dressed once a day with the following: — 

RECIPE (No. 40). 
JJstringeni Powder.— Take blue vitriol, powdered, half an ounce; powdered alum, 
half an ounce; prepared chalk, two ounces; armenian bole, one ounce. Mix. 

Linseed and oatmeal gruel should be offered to drink, and mashes 
with the best food that can be procured. If the weather is fine, it 
will be better to continue the cattle at grass; but if housed, they 
should be kept clean and dry. When the bowels are relaxed, and 
there appears much weakness, the following tonic should be given 
daily : — 

RECIPE (No. 41). 
Take powdered ginger, one drachm; powdered caraway seeds, one drachm; gen- 
tian, powdered, four drachms; spirit of nitrous ether, one ounce. To be mixed 
slowly with gruel. 

If there should be any appearance of colic or spasm of the bow r els, 
an ounce of laudanum may be given with the other medicine; and if 
the liver is affected, a drachm of calomel may be added, and a blis- 
tering application rubbed on the right side. 

Should the lungs be inflamed, it will be proper to bleed and blister 
the sides, or insert setons in the brisket. If the udder is affected, it 
should be well and frequently fomented with hot water, and the milk 
should be drawn with great care. 

The epidemic has sometimes appeared amongst sheep in so slight 
a form that they get well without assistance, or simply by the appli- 
cation of tar to the feet, no other part being affected. At other times, 
however, its appearance has been far more severe ; the hoofs in many 
cases have come off, from the formation of matter underneath, and 
the poor animals have been altogether unable to stand. The mouth, 
however, in these animals is rarely affected, and the appetite there- 
fore is not greatly impaired. In wet weather the disease is more 
severe than in dry, and the feet are sometimes so bad as to resemble 
the worst form of foot rot. • 

The feet will therefore, in sheep, require the principal attention. 
The detached horn should be sufficiently cut away to afford exit to 
any matter that may be under; but the knife must be used w T ith cau- 
tion and sparingly, as fungus flesh is so apt to grow when the horn 
is removed. 

The same medicine recommended for cattle should here be em- 
ployed, and the powder will be particularly useful. It will be desi- 
rable, unless the symptoms are slight, to administer the internal 
medicine, one-sixth or one-eighth part being sufficient for the sheep; 
and it will not be necessary to continue its use so long. 

Pigs may be treated in a similar manner. 



94 INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 

This disease does not often occur in cattle, except from eating 
acrid and poisonous herbs, or when cows are near their time of calv- 
ing. In the first case, there are frequent and violent, but ineffectual, 
etforts to stale. There is true and proper inflammation of the neck of 
the bladder. This may be occasioned by cold, but is more frequently 
produced by the animal having fed on heathy pastures, and on the 
hot and stimulating plants that abound there. The broom is a fre- 
quent cause of this disease. 

It is of much consequence to be enabled to distinguish this from 
inflammation of the bladder itself. In the early stage of inflamma- 
tion of the neck of the bladder no urine will be voided, while it will 
be discharged much more frequently than usual, and apparently in 
larger quantities in true inflammation of the bladder; and when at 
length, in inflammation of the neck of the bladder, urine is voided, it 
is after much straining, and is evidently and forcibly squeezed out 
from the over-distended but closed vessels. The most certain way, 
however, of distinguishing the one from the other, is to introduce the 
hand into the rectum ; the distended bladder will then be plainly felt 
below. It may sometimes be detected by examination of the outside 
of the belly. 

The course to be pursued is sufficiently plain — the bladder must 
be emptied, or more fluid will pour into it until it actually bursts. 
For some time before the fatal termination of the complaint in the 
rupture of the bladder, not only the constant straining, but the heav- 
ing of the flanks, the quickness of the pulse, the loss of appetite, the 
cessation of rumination, and the shivering fits, will sufficiently indi- 
cate the extent of the danger. The better way of emptying the blad- 
der is, if possible, to relax the spasm of its neck. It is the spasmodic 
action of the sphincter muscle of the neck of the bladder that is the 
cause of the obstruction. A very large bleeding will sometimes ac- 
complish this; but it must be a large one, and continued until the 
animal is exhausted almost to fainting. 

To bleeding, physic should succeed, in order to lower the system, 
and relax the spasm; but no medicine must be given that would in 
the slightest degree increase the flow of urine. Sulphur, or aloes, or 
both combined, would be indicated here. 

Should not the flow of urine be re-established, mechanical means 
must be resorted to. Here a skilful practitioner should be consulted. 
The water may be readily drawn from the cow by a catheter ; but in 
the ox, from the curvature of the penis, this would be a very difficult 
affair. Some have recommended to cut down upon the penis, behind 
the bag, and lay open the urethra, and so pass a catheter into the 



INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 95 

bladder ; but this will produce a wound, difficult to heal from the pas- 
sage and excoriation of the urine. Others would puncture the blad- 
der through the rectum, and others through the belly; but both ope- 
rations may be accompanied and followed by various unpleasant 
circumstances. 

The catheter lately invented by Mr. Read, and which, by curiously 
accommodating itself to the curvature of the urethra in the horse, will 
readily enter the bladder and evacuate it without any painful or dan- 
gerous operation, is not applicable to the ox, at least in common 
hands; for there is a double curvature in his penis and urethra, 
through which no catheter, however flexible, will pass. A good 
veterinary anatomist, however, will overcome this difficulty; and to 
him, or to one well skilled in his profession, the proprietor of cattle 
should have recourse in such a case. 

The farmer, nevertheless, having fully ascertained the nature of 
the case, may often evacuate a great portion of the urine in a very 
simple way. The bladder of the ox lies more in the pelvis than does 
that of the horse — it is more easily felt than in the horse — it is mere 
readily pressed upon by the hand — and the muscle at the neck of the 
bladder is much weaker: so that the hand being introduced into the 
anus, and gentle pressure made upon the bladder, a great quantity, 
or almost the whole, of the urine may be forced out, without danger. 

A catheter may be introduced into the bladder of a cow without 
difficulty. 

Inflammation of the bladder itself is a disease more frequent, and 
from the same causes, namely, cold and acrid herbs. Here the ani- 
mal should be bled and physicked, and fomented across the loins, 
and every diuretic medicine carefully avoided. The following drink 
may be administered with good effect, after the bleeding and 
purging — 

RECIPE ^Nn. 42). 
Drivk for Inflammation of the Bladder. — Take, antimonial powder, two drachms ; 
powdered opium, one scruple: rub them well together with a small portion of very 
thick gruel, and repeat the dose morning and night. 

It should not. however, be forgotten, that in cows that are near 
parturition this discharge of urine is not unfrequent, and arises from 
irritation of the bladder, caused by the pressure of the foetus, or from 
sympathy with the uterus, now much excited, — and not from actual 
inflammation. When she has calved, this will gradually cease; or 
a dose of salts, followed by one or two of the powders just recom- 
mended, will afford immediate and considerable relief. In some 
cows this incontinence of urine has been produced by the retention 
cf a dead calf in the womb beyond the natural period, and it being 
at the same time in a state of putrefaction. The mingled influence 
of long-continued pressure, and of proximity to a large body in a state 
of decomposition, will occasionally produce a state of extreme irrita- 
bility. The animal should have warm mashes once or twice daily. 

Connected with this is a not unfrequent disease, and especially in 
the summer, and in cows in high condition, namely : — 



96 INFLAMMATION OF THE SHAPE. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE SHAPE. 

The external parts are very much swollen, and pustules or boils 
appear about them, that break and discharge much matter; and there 
is also a considerable discharge of glairy fluid from the vagina. 

This sometimes occurs after difficult calving, or from taking cold 
when the calving has been easy and natural : it has occasionally fol- 
lowed bulling, and it has been seen at other times, and arises from 
causes that could not be ascertained. Every action of the animal 
shows that she labours under extreme irritation, and suffers a great 
deal. 

She should be bled and physicked. It will often be advisable to 
give a second dose of the physic, after an interval of three days. The 
shape should be well fomented several times in the day with warm 
water, until the swelling begins to diminish. A common goulard- 
wash, consisting of one ounce of the extract of lead to a quart of 
water, with the addition of an ounce of spirit of wine, will then be 
serviceable. 

An unpleasant gleet will often remain for a considerable time after 
the swelling has subsided and the ulcers have healed. An astringent 
injection will then be useful. The one that should be first tried is 
composed of six ounces of bruised oak bark, boiled in two quarts of 
water until it is reduced to three pints. If this should not succeed, a 
solution of alum, in the proportion of a quarter of an ounce to a quart 
of water, may be tried. A common injection syringe, of tolerably 
large size, will be the best instrument for throwing up the injection. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

STONE IN THE URINARY PASSAGES, OR BLADDER. 

There seems to be a greater disposition to the formation and reten- 
tion of calculi, or stones, in the urinary passages of the ox, than of 
the horse. The manner in which cattle gather their food, the half- 
cutting, and half-tearing, by which the roots of a portion at least of 
the herbage are taken into the mouth and swallowed, and the pro- 
pensity which almost all cattle have to swallow earth, in order to 
prevent the acid fermentation of the food in the paunch — these things 
account for the more frequent collection of sand and gravel in the 
bladder of cattle than of horses. 

Tli is sand and gravel is the foundation of, or the preparation for, 
the future formation of stone in the bladder; and when the stone 
begins to form, it is far more likely to be detained, and to accumulate 
in size, in the bladder of the ox, than that of the horse, because the 
urethra is very much smaller and more curved in its course. 



STONE IN THE URINARY PASSAGES. 97 

Stone in the bladder may be suspected, when there is much fever, 
accompanied by a frequent turning of the head, and earnest gaze on 
the flanks; when the hind limbs tremble, and there are ineffectual 
endeavours to pass urine, or it is evacuated in small quantities, and 
mingled with blood. 

The suspicion may very easily be reduced to certainty, by examin- 
ing the bladder with the hand introduced into the rectum, or last gut. 
The bladder of the ox, as has already been described, lying so much 
more in the pelvis than the bladder of the horse does, the stone cannot 
fail of being felt if there is one. 

The presence of stone in the bladder having been thus proved, that 
farmer will pursue the most judicious course who sends the beast 
immediately to the butcher ; for no medicine will dissolve it, and the 
animal will lose condition every day. 

A skilful veterinarian is able, indeed, to remove the stone by the 
operation of lithotomy : but he must well understand the anatomy of 
cattle ; and, after all, the operation would be attended with some 
danger and considerable expense. 

The retention of a small calculus in some part of the urethra occurs 
much oftener than is generally suspected. The symptoms would be, 
nearly the same as those of stone in the bladder, except that the stop- 
page of urine would be more complete. On examination, the stone 
will be easily felt, and generally in the double curvature of the penis. 
An incision may be made upon it, and it may be thus easily extracted. 
Two or three sutures, according to the size of the calculus, having 
been passed through the edges of the wound, it will usually heal in 
a few days. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 

Oxen are very apt to receive injuries about the eye, as wounds 
penetrating into the orbit of the eye, or even fractures of the orbit. 
The principal thing is to prevent or abate inflammation, by fomenta- 
tions or poultices, and a little physic, and to leave nature pretty 
nearly to herself. Either from injury, or from a disposition in the 
bullock to throw out tumours of every kind, there are frequently bony 
enlargements about the eyes of oxen. It will be easily seen how far 
they are a nuisance to the animal, or impede the sight; and if it is 
necessary to remove them, the aid of a professed practitioner on cat- 
tle should be obtained, as an important vessel may be divided, or a 
sad blemish left. 

Soft fungous tumours sometimes grow out of the orbit, or from the 
bone around. These can only be got rid of by the use of the knife, 
and that should be placed in a skilful hand : but even in the most 
9 



98 DISEASES OP THE EYE. 

skilful hands, the knife often fails ; or rather, there is a disposition to 
reproduction in these tumours, which it is impossible to repress. 

The eyelids of the ox are very subject to disease. Sometimes there 
is a scaliness around the edges ; sometimes a row of pustules resem- 
bling the stye of the human being : both of these diseases are fre- 
quently a great source of annoyance. They appear early in the spring 
of the year, and continue during the summer and the greater part of 
the autumn, and disappear as winter comes on. A solution of white 
•vitriol, in the proportion of a drachm to a pint of water, will often be 
a useful application. If this fails, the nitrated ointment of quicksil- 
ver may be smeared over the lid, taking care that none of it gets into 
the eye. It will, however, be necessary at times to prepare for the 
use of these by washing the part with a goulard lotion for a few days. 

Young oxen are subject to warts, which are frequently sadly teas- 
ing. They would probably disappear after a while, but, in the mean- 
time, they are unsightly, and much annoy the animal by getting 
between or within the lids. They may either be clipped off with a 
pair of scissors, touching the root afterwards with the lunar caustic, 
that the wart may not be reproduced ; or — the best way when prac- 
ticable — -they may be removed by tying a ligature of fine strong silk 
tightly round the pedicle, or root. 

The eye itself is not unfrequently inflamed, and sometimes very 
acutely. The horse has a little shovel, concealed in the inner corner 
of the eye, which he is enabled to protrude whenever he pleases over 
the greater part of the eye, and by aid of the tears to wipe and wash 
away the dust and gravel which would otherwise lodge in the eye 
and give him much pain. When the haw is swelled in disease, the 
ignorant farrier too often cuts it away, not knowing that it is the 
mere effect of inflammation, and that a little cooling lotion would 
probably abate that inflammation, and lessen the swelling, and restore 
the part to its natural size and utility. The ox has something. of the 
same contrivance, but it is not so moveable or so effectual ; and, when 
he travels over a dusty road in the heat of summer, he sadly suffers 
from the small particles of dirt and the insects that are continually 
flying into his eye. This is unobserved by the careless driver, and 
inflammation is established, and the eye weeps, and becomes dim, 
and sometimes blindness follows. 

This portion of the eye, or this third eyelid, seems to be peculiarly 
subject to disease. Little swellings, and ulcers, and fungous growths, 
appear upon it; and a fungus, like that just described, springs up, 
and almost covers the eye. This is sometimes in a manner epidemic 
on various farms. 

But from other causes, and of the nature of which we know little, 
inflammation of the eye is produced, and goes and comes as in the 
horse, time after time, the attack being gradually more severe, and 
the intervals between the attacks shorter, until, as in the horse, the 
inflammation extends to the internal part of the eye, and the lens 
becomes opaque, and cataract ensues, and the ox is incurably blind. 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 99 

All these must be dealt with as other inflammations are. In order 
to combat general inflammation of the eye, bleeding, physicking, and 
fomentations, are the principal weapons employed. The blood should 
be taken from the jugular, for that is supplied by veins coming from 
the inflamed parts. If the bleeding is ever local, the lid should be 
turned down, and the lining membrane lightly scarified. A few drops 
of blood thus obtained will often do a great deal of good. The 
fomentation having been continued for a day or two, one of the two 
following lotions should he used, a few drops of it being introduced 
into the eye two or three times every day : — 

RECIPE (No. 43.) 
Sedative Eye Lotion ({).— Take, dried leaves of foxglove, powdered, one and a half 
ounce : infuse them in a pint of Cape or dry raisin wine, for a fortnight, and keep 
the infusion for use. 

There cannot be a better sedative in the early stage of inflamma- 
tion of the eyes. 

In many cases this alone will effect the temporary or perfect 
removal of the inflammation ; but should not the eye improve, or 
should it appear to become insensible to the influence of the tincture, 
try the next prescription : — 

RECIPE (No. 44). 
Sedative Eye Lotion (2).— Take, extract of goulard, two drachms; spirituous tinc- 
ture of digitalis (made in the same manner as the vinous in the last recipe), two 
drachms ; tincture of opium, two drachms ; water, a pint : this should also be intro- 
duced into the eye. Two or three drops at a time will suffice. 

The inflammation being subdued by the one or the other of these 
applications, or even bidding defiance to them, and assuming a chro- 
nic form, a lotion of a different character must be had recourse to. 

RECIPE (No. 45). 
Strengthening Lotion for the Eye.— Take, white vitriol, one scruple ; spirit of wine, 
a drachm ; water, a pint: mix them together, and use the lotion in the same manner 
as the others. 

When the inflammation runs high, the transparent part of the eye 
is apt to ulcerate, and a fungous substance sprouts, and sometimes 
protrudes through the lids. This should be very lightly touched with 
a solution of nitrate of silver, or, if it is very prominent, it should be 
cut off, and the base of it touched with the caustic. 

A seton in the dewlap will always be beneficial in inflammation 
of the eye, and it should either be made of the black hellebore root, 
or a cord well soaked in turpentine. 

Of one circumstance the breeder of cattle should be aware — that 
blindness is an hereditary disease, and that the progeny of a bull that 
has any defect of sight is very apt to beeome blind. 

If the case is neglected, inflammation of the eye will sometimes 
run on to cancer, and not only the eye, but the soft parts around it, 
and even the bones, will be affected. 

When this termination threatens, the globe of the eye will usually 
turn to a bottle-green colour, then ulceration will appear about the 



100 DISEASES OF THE EYE. 

centre of it, and either the fungus of which I have spoken will sprout, 
and the eye will become of three or four times its natural size, or it 
will gradually diminish and sink into the orbit. The fluid discharged 
from it will be so acrid that it will excoriate the parts over which it 
runs, and the lids will become swollen and ulcerated. 

The radical cure, and the most humane method to be adopted with 
regard to the animal, is to remove the eye. Here the assistance of a 
veterinary practitioner will be indispensable. 

If the owner does not think proper to adopt this method, let him 
at least try to make the poor beast as comfortable as he can. The 
part should be kept clean, and when there appears to be any addi- 
tional inflammation, or swelling, or pain, the eye should be well 
fomented with a decoction of poppy-heads. Let none of the stimu- 
lating ointments or washes of the farrier be used. This would be 
cruelly punishing the animal, when no good purpose could possibly 
be effected. 

Sometimes the centre of the eye is not so much affected as the haw 
at the inner corner of it. When that part merely enlarges from the 
inflammation of the eye generally, the digitalis or the Goulard wash 
will usually abate the swelling; and he would be both ignorant and 
cruel who would remove it on account of simple enlargement accom- 
panying inflammation ; but when it becomes hard and schirrous, and 
especially if fungous granulations begin to spring from it, the case 
assumes a different character. No sedative or other lotion will lessen 
the schirrous or the fungous tumour. It must be removed by an ope- 
ration ; — it must be cut away. The method of accomplishing this by 
a skilful practitioner is not difficult. The beast must be thrown, and 
the head held firmly down by an assistant. The operator then passes 
a curved needle, armed with a double strong silk, through the body' 
of the tumour, and, drawing a portion of the silk through it, gives the 
needle and the end of the silk to be held by another assistant. He 
pulls the silk gently, but firmly, until he draws the tumour as far as 
possible from the corner of the eye, so that the attachment of its base 
may be seen. The operator then with a knife dissects it out, or with 
a pair of scissors snips it off.' No bleeding of any dangerous conse- 
quence will follow, and the blood that is lost will abate the inflam- 
mation, and ease the pain which the animal had previously endured. 
The removal by ligature is a slow and not always effectual method 
of proceeding; for it may not be possible to apply it accurately 
around the very base of the tumour, and then the enlargement will 
probably be reproduced. It is also necessary to tighten the ligature 
every day, or every second day, and at each time the contest with 
the beast must be renewed if this mode of removing the tumour is 
adopted. 



THE HOOVE. 101 

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE HOOVE, HOVEN, OR BLOWN. 

This disease is a distention of the rumen, or first stomach, by the 
gas which is extracted from certain substances undergoing the process 
of fermentation within it. The herbage is hastily gathered at first, 
and received into the rumen, in order to undergo there a process of 
maceration, by means of which it may be more perfectly ground 
down, and all its nutritive matter extracted when it is subjected to a 
second mastication. 

The rumen has been described as divided into various compart- 
ments, and its coats containing a strong muscular structure. By the 
action of these muscles the food is made slowly to traverse these 
compartments in the order in which it was received ; and the journey, 
in the ordinary state of health, occupies sufficient time for the herbage 
to be to a certain degree macejrated or softened, but not for that pro- 
cess of fermentation to be set up to which all vegetables are liable. 

Supposing an ox to be suddenly turned into new and luxuriant 
pasture, he sets to work, and gathers the herbage rapidly and greedi- 
ly ; so much so that the stomach is unable to propel forward the dif- 
ferent portions of food as they are received, but becomes overloaded 
and clogged, and at length ceases altogether to act upon its contents. 
The food remains longer in the stomach than nature designed that it 
should, and it begins to ferment ; and while fermenting throws out a 
quantity of gas, which distends the stomach almost or quite to burst- 
ing. Thence arises the danger of sudden change of pasture from an 
inferior to a better quality, and the numerous cases of distension of 
the stomach and death which occur when the fog-grass is plentiful 
and succulent, or the beast has without preparation or care been 
turned upon clover or turnips. 

Some animals, however, are subject to hoove, but in a slighter 
degree, without this change of pasture. Many a weakly cow has 
occasional swellings of the paunch where there has been little or no 
change of food. The stomach, also, is subject to disease — it sympa- 
thises with disease of every other part; and one of the first and most 
frequent results of an unhealthy state of it is the production of an 
acid, which wonderfully accelerates and increases the process of fer- 
mentation and the development of gas. Hence it is that distension 
of the stomach is an accompaniment of almost every malady to which 
cattle are liable. No case of difficult parturition, or of dropping after 
calving, or of milk fever, occurs without some degree of distension 
of the paunch, either from the stomach being so weakened as to be 
unable to force the food along, or from its secreting this unnatural 
and unhealthy acid, so favourable to the progress of fermentation. 

The symptoms of hoove are sufficiently known. The beast seems 
9* 



102 THE HOOVE. 

to swell, and that to an enormous extent ; the breathing is very labo- 
rious, and the animal is evidently in great distress, and threatened 
with immediate suffocation, from the pressure of the distended sto- 
mach against the diaphragm diminishing the cavity of the chest, and 
rendering it impossible for the lungs to expand. The difficulty of 
breathing increases with the distension of the stomach and the pres- 
sure on the lungs, and the animal is inevitably lost if relief is not 
soon obtained. 

This relief consists, and can alone consist, in relieving the stomach 
from the distension. But how is this to be accomplished 1 Medi- 
cine seems to be almost or quite thrown away. If a drink is given, 
not a drop of it will find its way into the paunch, the entrance to 
which is so firmly closed that it seems scarcely possible that even a 
ball should now break through the floor. A very stimulating drink, 
passing into the fourth stomach, and exciting it, may, by sympathy, 
induce the paunch to act: yet it is difficult to conceive how that 
viscus can possibly act while its fibres are put thus violently upon 
the stretch. 

Something might have been done by way of prevention. If, when 
the cattle had been turned into the fresh pasture, they had been care- 
fully watched, and removed again to the straw-yard, before the 
paunch had been too much gorged, and this had been repeated two 
or three times, the appetite would have been blunted and hoove pre- 
vented. 

Some farmers, an hour or two before they have turned such cows 
as are of a greedy disposition into a fresh pasture, give them a cor- 
dial drink. The stomach is stimulated by this, and induced to con- 
tract in time upon its contents; and this contraction has reminded the 
animal of the necessary process of rumination, or has rendered it 
almost impossible for him to continue to feed until some portion of 
the contents of the stomach has been returned and remasticated. 

If the farmer will adopt such a plan, the following drink is as good 
as any that can be given : — 

RECIPE (No. 46). 
Cordial Drink. — Take, caraway and aniseeds, in powder, of each an ounce ; ginger, 
half an ounce : mix with a pint of good ale, made hot. 

I must confess, however, that, although I would not absolutely 
condemn such a practice, I would much rather trust to simpler and 
more effectual precautions. I would take care that the change of 
food should not be too sudden nor too great. If there was an evident 
difference in the nutritive quality of the two pastures, I would be 
carefully on the watch, and remove the beast to shorter grass, before 
material mischief could be effected. 

Suppose, however, that the mischief is done; the stomach is dis- 
tended, and the animal is evidently threatened with immediate suffo- 
cation. Nothing but mechanical means will now be of avail. 

Some drive the animal about. This is sadly cruel work ; for he 
seems to be scarcely able to move, and appears as if he would be 



THE HOOVE. 103 

suffocated every moment. This has, however, been sometimes suc- 
cessful, especially if the beast is madt to trot; for, by the motion and 
the shaking of the stomach thus produced, the roof of the paunch has 
been forced a little open, and a portion of the air has escaped, and 
some of the food with it, and the stomach has been relieved from a 
part of its distension, and has been enabled to act upon the remaining 
food, and the process of rumination has recommenced. It is, how- 
ever, dangerous work; for in the act of moving with the stomach so 
distended, either it or the diaphragm upon which it is pressing is in 
danger of being ruptured. 

Some have resorted to an operation. Midway between the last rib 
and the haunch-bone, the distended paunch will be felt pressing 
against the flank. A lancet or a pocket-knife has been plunged into 
the animal at that spot, which has passed through the skin and the 
wall of the belly, and entered the paunch. The vapour has then 
rushed out with a hissing noise, and steamed up four or five feet high, 
and some of the contents of the bowels have been forced up with the 
gas, and the flanks have fallen, and the beast has evidently become 
less, and has been so much relieved that he has begun to ruminate, 
and has done well. The wound is left open for a while, that any 
newly-formed gas may escape: it then soon heals of itself, or would 
almost immediately if its edges were brought together by a slip of 
adhesive plaster. 

It, however, too frequently happens, that, although present relief 
has been obtained, and the beast has ruminated and eaten, it has in a 
few days begun to show symptoms of indisposition, and has become 
feverish, and drooped, and died. We account for this by some of the 
gas, and, perhaps, a portion of the food, getting into the belly, be- 
tween the paunch and the flank, and falling down among the intes- 
tines, and causincr irritation and inflammation there. 

Some have adopted even rougher and more effectual methods of 
remedying the evil. They have not contented themselves with simply 
puncturing the paunch, but they have cut a hole into it through the 
flank large enough to introduce the hand ; and so they have not only 
liberated the air, but have taken out the fermenting food by pailfuls. 
They have even gone so far as to pour in water, and fairly wash the 
paunch out. They have then brought the edges of the wound toge- 
ther by passing a few stitches through it, and including the substance 
of the flank and the wall of the paunch in each stitch, and afterwards 
covered the wound with adhesive plaster, and it has readily healed, 
and no bad consequence has ensued. In desperate cases, as when 
the paunch seems to be filled with a mass of food that will continue 
to ferment, and cannot be got rid of either by rumination or b} r physic, 
this bold mode of treatment may be adopted. The paunch has few 
blood-vessels, and little sensibility, and will bear great injury without 
any fatal consequence. But this expedient has not always succeeded. 
Inflammation has ensued, and carried the animal off. Besides this, 
the paunch, being suspended by these stitches, and afterwards hang- 



104 THE HOOVE. 

ing thus from the flank, is kept permanently out of its place, and is 
unable freely and fully to contract afterwards upon its contents : thus 
inflammation has ensued ; and the subsequent want of condition in 
some of these animals, and the difficulty of fattening them thoroughly, 
is easily accounted for. 

Some farmers go a little more judiciously to work.- They thrust a 
flexible stick, or a cart-whip, down the throat, and through the floor 
of the passage beneath, and the roof of the paunch, and thus enable 
some of the gas to escape; and this, perhaps, would be effectual, if 
the stick could be kept there long enough, and the stomach did not 
close around it. 

An instrument, first devised by Dr. Monro, and now brought to 
perfection by Mr. Read, of the Regent's Circus, is superior to every 
other method of relieving blown or hoven cattle. A kind of gag is 
placed across the mouth, with a hole in the centre of it, and a leather 
at each end to buckle round the horns. Through this is passed a 
hollow tube of stout leather, called a probang, with a perforated knob 
at the end of it, and containing (to render it firm enough to be thrust 
down the throat, and flexible enough to accommodate itself to the 
bending of the passage) a stylet, or slender piece of cane or whale- 
bone, extending through the whole of its length. The tube, thus 
strengthened by the stylet, is forced through the roof of the paunch 
into that stomach. The stylet is then withdrawn, and the air rushes 
violently out, and sometimes a considerable quantity of fluid with it. 
The tube may be kept in the gullet as long as the operator pleases, 
or returned as often as may be necessary; and if it be passed down 
with a little caution, and not too rapidly and violently, no injury can 
possibly ensue. 

Thus the gas and some of the fluid are liberated; but the solid 
contents of the stomach, the undigested food, may remain, continuing 
to ferment, and so nauseating the animal that he is disgusted in the 
act of rumination. Mr. Read has a contrivance to remedy this.* He 

* [Read's Patent Veterinary Syringe consists of a syringe (Fig. 1) to which tubes 
of different sizes are affixed, according to the purpose and kind of animal to be ope- 
rated upon. There is a long flexible tube for giving an enema (clyster) to horses and 
cattle, a, and a smaller one for dogs, b. To relieve hoven cattle, however, it is not 
only necessary to relieve the stomach from an accumulation of gas, but from the 
fermenting pultaceous mixture which generates it: for this purpose a tube, d, ia 
applied to the extremity of the syringe, and then passed into the animal's stomach 
through the mouth, as in Fig. 2, and being put into action, the offending matter is 
discharged by a side opening. When the same operation is performed on slieep, a 
Binaller tube, e, is used. The characteristic excellency of this apparatus is, that there 
is no limit to the quantity of fluid that may be ejected or extracted. The same 
syringe is used for extracting poison from the stomach of man, for smoking insects, 
for extinguishing fires, and syringing fruit trees. 

Another drawing represents a very useful instrument, and for which there is 
frequent occasion; a hollow probang, for relieving cattle choked with turnips, pota- 
toes, &c. It is armed with a stilet, which being passed into the throat of an animal 



THE HOOVE. 



105 




106 THE HOOVE. 

cannot, indeed, extract the food from the stomach by his tube, but he 
can do that which is almost as beneficial. He attaches to the tube a 
pump, that can in a moment be altered, so as to be used either as a 
forcing-pump like a little garden-engine, or as a common sucking- 
pump, and by means of it he can inject as much water into the 
stomach as he pleases, and draw it out again, and wash away the 
impurities of the food, and a considerable portion of the food itself; 
or, by using warm w r ater, and perfectly filling the stomach, he can 
excite the act of vomiting, and so get rid of the nuisance at once. 
This is an admirable contrivance, and no one who has many cattle 
should be without the pump and tube. Some of these instruments 
are made on a smaller scale, so as to be adapted for sheep labouring 
under the same complaint, to which they are as subject as oxen are. 
Nothing can be better contrived for the administering of injections 
than these tubes with the pump attached to them. Two or three 
gallons of fluid can be thrown up in as many minutes. 

After the stomach has been well emptied by these means, it will 
always be proper to give a cordial drink like that recommended in 
Recipe 31, p. 79. 

A knowledge of chemistry has been turned to excellent account in 
the treatment of hoove. The air, or gas, with which the rumen is 
distended in these cases has been anatysed, and found to consist 
principally of hydrogen, or inflammable air, and in combination either 
with sulphur or the principle of all plants — carbon or charcoal. Are 
there any means by which this hydrogen can be removed, or at least 
made to occupy less space, and the distension of the stomach be 
relieved? There is another gas for which hydrogen has a strong 
affinity, namely, chlorine ; and when they are brought into contact 
with each other they rapidly combine — they both lose their gaseous 
form, and a fluid, not occupying a thousandth part of the bulk of 
either, is found in their stead — muriatic acid. 

Chlorine, however, is a highly poisonous gas : it cannot be breathed 
in a very diluted state without a distressing feeling of suffocation, 
and undiluted it would be immediately fatal to life. How shall it be 
safely introduced into the stomach in order to combine with and 
change the properties of this hydrogen 1 ? 

To a chemist the method of accomplishing this presents no difficul- 
ties. There is a combination of chlorine, fortunately for medicine, 



that is choking by a piece of solid food, too large to pass, perforates the snbstance, 
and allows of its being easily withdrawn or blown out in fragments. 

The figure A represents a section of the stilet probang; the figure B shows the 
operation of the same, in extracting solid substances. By these inventions it has 
been truly said Mr. Read has conferred a permanent benefit on the breeder and feeder 
of domestic animals. These instruments should be in the hands of every farmer ; 
their cost would be more than repaid by a single operation, by the saving of the life 
of one of his cattle. Their simplicity, too, is such as to render them capable of being 
employed by any individual, the only necessary preliminary being that the head of 
the animal be held in a proper position. — S.] 



THE HOOVE. 107 

now well known and in extensive use — Chloride of Lime. The 
practitioner, then, after having, by means of Read's probang, got rid 
of the hydrogen already extricated, provides for the absorption or 
disappearance of any that may afterwards be formed, in the following 
manner : — he dissolves two drachms of the chloride of lime in the 
form of powder, in a quart or three pints of water, and injects this 
into the stomach by means of Read's pump. The chlorine has an 
affinity for lime — in virtue of that affinity it had combined with it and 
formed chloride of lime; but, having a much stronger affinity for 
hydrogen, it rapidly quits the lime and unites with the hydrogen, 
either then existing in the stomach, or as it may be afterwards extri- 
cated during the process of fermentation, and forms muriatic acid ; 
and by the wonderful diminution of bulk that follows this new com- 
bination of hydrogen, the distension of the stomach is at once, and, 
as it were, magically removed. 

There are then left in the stomach muriatic acid and the lime which 
has lost its chlorine. These are highly caustic substances, and might 
threaten to be detrimental, but their continued presence in the stomach 
is beautifully provided against, for between the muriatic acid and the 
lime there is also a strong affinity ; and these substances hasten to 
unite; and the result is a harmless neutral salt, muriate of lime. 

The practitioner on cattle will highly prize this remedy for hoove, 
and will see other ways in which it may be usefully employed. 

It is proper to observe that there are several other medicaments 
which have been found of great service in this disease, such as lime- 
water, potash, hartshorn, and particularly sulphuric ether. About an 
ounce and a half of hartshorn may be given in a pint and a half of 
water, unless the symptoms are so urgent as to threaten immediate 
suffocation: then the flexible tube, if at hand, should be used; or, if 
not, the trochar, or the knife, plunged into the flank. If the symptoms 
should denote any inflammation, ether will be preferable as a medi- 
cine, as it promptly condenses the gases : an ounce may be given in 
a pint of water. If the symptoms are produced by green food there 
is less probability of inflammation than if the food has been previously 
dry. 

It is very important to distinguish between distension of the paunch 
produced by meteriozation, or the production of gas, and that occa- 
sioned wholly or in part by the large mass of food itself. The nature 
of the diet will in some measure assist our judgment. If it has con- 
sisted of roots, such as potatoes, the obstruction will probably be 
mechanical ; and then, though the symptoms may not be so painful 
or sudden, the danger is yet greater. There is generally some in- 
flammation of the digestive organs, and the pulse is usually small 
and feeble. On pressing the abdomen at the flank, we find that the 
stomach feels hard and firm, although even in this case it contains 
some gas. 

It will be proper to administer ether or chloride of lime, to con- 
dense the gases, as before advised : then, if no relief can be obtained 



108 THE HOOVE. 

by this or the administration of purgatives, it will bo proper to employ 
the trochar, and thus give exit to the gas, and ascertain positively the 
nature of the contents of the rumen. If they are found to be solid and 
in considerable quantity, it will be proper to make an opening in the 
flank five inches long, so as to insert the hand, and empty the stomach 
mechanically, taking especial care not to let any of the food escape 
from the wound in the rumen into the abdomen. The wound must 
afterwards be stitched up, and some blood may be taken and an oily 
laxative administered, and the food for some days given very 
sparingly. The operation is, of course, attended with much danger, 
and should therefore be employed in desperate cases only; but it has 
been performed with perfect success. 

Cattle that have been once blown are subject to a repetition of the 
accident. The chloride of lime should be administered whenever they 
are turned into fresh and tempting pasture : they should be more 
carefully watched than others, and a cordial drink, mingled with a 
portion of physic, given them as soon as they appear to be in the 
slightest degree blown. 

[A gentleman of Easton, Pennsylvania, once assured us that he had often seen a 
tarred rope tied in the mouth of cattle or sheep for this affection, and " never knew 
it fail." To prevent hoven, Lewis Saunders, an eminent cattle breeder of Kentucky, 
recommends — to "mix thoroughly one bushel of wood ashes, sifted to each bushel 
of common salt ; this mixture to be used as salt for stock on a farm. At all times 
stock ought to be sufficiently salted; but at the periods most likely to be attacked 
with hoove (early in spring or at the time of first frosts in autumn) increase the 
supply of salt and ashes. The alkali, says Mr. Saunders, destroys, from the ashes, 
the acidity of the stomach— preventing- the accumulation of gas. I have thus used 
ashes with salt, for stock, for upwards of twenty years, and in all that time have 
lost but one animal by hoove, and that was supposed to have occurred in conse- 
quence of having omitted the ashes, in one or two saltings. I prefer salting on the 
ground, a double handful in a place twenty five or thirty feet apart. I use the 
mixture for horse and hog stock, as well as for cattle and sheep." — Grass Hills, Ken- 
tucky, 1839. — S.J 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

CHOKING. 

Cattle are extremely liable to become ctloked when feeding on 
turnips or other roots, and many are in consequence destroyed. A 
round object, such as a potato, is more likely to occasion suffocation 
than a more irregular body, as it produces greater pressure on the 
windpipe, and is embraced more closely by the oesophagus. The 
appearances attending choking can scarcely be mistaken. The animal 
evinces great distress, tries to bring up the obstructing body, slavers 
at the mouth, pokes its nose, and draws up the neck. After awhile 



CHOKING. 109 

the abdomen swells from the inflation of the paunch with gas. Some- 
times the beast will die in a very short time, but the urgency of the case 
depends much on the situation and the size of the obstructing body. 

If the rumen is so distended as to threaten immediate suffocation, 
it will be proper to puncture it ; but this, if possible, should be avoided. 
It will next be desirable to ascertain the situation of the obstruction. 
Sometimes it will be found that the body is impacted at the back of 
the mouth or beginning of the oesophagus : in these cases by using a 
balling-iron the object can frequently be removed by passing up the 
hand. 

If, however, the substance is situated low down the tube, it will be 
desirable to force it onwards. For this purpose half a pint of oil 
should be given to lubricate the passage as much as possible, and 
then the beast, being properly secured, and a gag placed in the mouth, 
a flexible tube or rod, with a knob at the end, should be carefully 
passed down the oesophagus until it reaches the body : a steady 
pressure should now be employed to force it onwards ; but this should 
be done patiently, so as not to injure the parts. By alternately resting 
and trying again, the object will generally be removed. 

If the object is situated near the mouth, but not sufficiently so as 
to be reached by the hand, it can best be removed by means of an in- 
strument invented by Mr. Simonds, and which is constructed so as to 
embrace the obstructing body by a forceps, concealed in the bulb at 
the end of the tube, and thus to remove it upwards by the mouth. 

After forcing the object into the stomach it will be desirable to let 
the probang remain a short time, if the animal is hoven, to afford an 
exit for the gas : and this may be assisted by pressing the flanks. 

No solid food should be allowed for several da}'S afterwards, as 
there is great danger of a repetition of the choking until the muscles 
entirely recover their tone. Sometimes, after all attempts of removing 
the body by the methods before described have failed, it will be pro- 
per to do so by means of an operation which has been performed with 
success ; and this consists in making an incision through the skin 
into the oesophagus, sufficiently large to extract the body. Great care 
must be exercised so as not to injure the important nerves and blood- 
vessels situated near the part. The beast should be cast for the 
operation, and the wound carefully sewed up afterwards, and for 
several days the food should consist principally of gruel. 

[A gentleman who has been much in Spain says that it is a common practice 
there, when cattle get choked with apples, or other such substances, for two or three 
men to seize them and lay their neck over a log of wood, and then the operator 
feeling for the obstruction, strikes a smart blow immediately over it, with a mallet 
or billet of wood, sufficient to crush the apple to pieces, which instantly begins to 
be blown out, and the animal is relieved. The expedient appears to be practicable, 
where the obstruction can be felt externally and come at in this way. The probang 
mentioned in this chapter lias been exhibited by an appropriate drawing, page 104, 
in the belief that it is not of such familiar use, or so generally known among us, as 
in England. — S.] 
10 



110 LOCKED JAW 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

LOCKED JAW. 

Fortunately this is not a very frequent disease among cattle ; but 
it is a very fatal one when it does occur. If the attendant is careful, 
he will observe the symptoms of this malady one or two days before 
it is thoroughly and incurably established. There will be a stiffness 
of gait in the beast — he will walk unusually wide behind — there will 
be difficulty of turning — permanent cocking of the tail, except when 
that is interrupted, or accompanied by a singular tremulous motion 
of it. The animal can scarcely, and, after a while, not at all, bend 
his neck to graze; but he will stand with his head protruding, and 
his ears stiffened, and unnaturally fixed in a somewhat backward 
direction. Rumination gradually ceases, or is performed slowly and 
painfully. At length the jaws become firmly closed, and the neck 
perfectly stiff. The eyes are strangely fixed, and with some degree 
of squinting, and the expression of the countenance is peculiarly 
anxious. The breathing is considerably affected, and there is much 
labour of the flanks. 

The animal will linger on in this dreadful way for eight, or nine, 
or ten days, almost every muscle of the body being painfully cramp- 
ed, and the poor creature unable to take a morsel of food, until at 
length it dies, exhausted by the violent contraction of the muscles 
and by starvation. 

The usual cause of locked jaw is some neglected or unobserved 
wound, particularly in the feet. Working oxen, therefore, are most 
subject to it. Several weeks sometimes pass between the infliction 
of the wound and the appearance of this disease. Working oxen that 
have been exposed to cold and wet, after being heated in drawing, 
frequently have locked jaw. It has been said that locked jaw is 
occasionally produced by eating some poisonous plant, particularly 
the colchicum, the water-hemlock, or the yew. I much doubt the 
accuracy of this; and in many, and probably the majority of, in- 
stances the cause is altogether unknown. 

The treatment is indicated by the nature of the disease. It is a 
most violent action of the nerves of motion, either of a part or the 
whole of the frame. The most likely means to quiet this is the loss 
of blood, and that in a large quantity. Therefore, the ox should be 
bled as soon as the complaint is discovered, and bled until his pulse 
falters, and he staggers, and threatens to fall. The bleeding will 
usually relax the muscles of the jaw to a certain degree, and for a 
little while; and advantage must be taken of this to give a strong 
physic drink. 



LOCKED JAW. Ill 

RECIPE (No. 47). 

Strong Physic Drink for Locked Jaw. — Take Barbadoes aloes, one ounce and a 
half; the kernel of the croton nut, powdered, ten grains. Dissolve them in as small 
a quantity as possible of boiling water, and give them when the liquid is sufficiently 
cool. 

Generally the jaw will be now sufficiently relaxed to permit the 
introduction of the thin neck of a claret bottle into the mouth. The 
best method, however, of giving medicine in this case is by the 
assistance of Read's patent pump, the pipe of which, let the jaws be 
fixed as firmly as they may, can generally be introduced, close to 
and immediately before the grinders. 

The bowels having been opened, those medicines must be resorted 
to which have the readiest and most powerful effect in quieting the 
nervous system. These are, as it regards cattle, opium and cam- 
phor. 

RECIPE (No. 48). 
Anodyne Drink for Locked Jaw. — Take camphor, one drachm, rub it down in an 
ounce of spirits of wine; to this add powdered opium, one drachm, and give the 
mixture in a small quantity of thick gruel. 

This medicine should be administered three or four times every 
day ; care being taken that the bowels are kept open, either by means 
of aloes or Epsom salts. 

The bleeding should be repeated on the second day, if the animal 
is not evidently relieved ; and as much blood should be again taken 
as the patient can bear to lose. 

The stable or cow-house should be warm, and the animal covered 
with two or three thick rugs. If considerable perspiration can be 
excited, the beast is almost sure to experience some relief. 

While all this is done to lower the action of the nervous system, 
the strength of the beast must be supported. He will not, or rather 
he cannot eat; but he often looks very wistfully at his food. Let a 
good mash, a little at a time, and moister than usual, be placed be- 
fore him, a portion of which he will try hard to suck up. If he 
manages this tolerably well he needs not to be forced with gruel or 
any other nutriment; but if his jaws are too firmly fixed for this, the 
small end of the pipe of Read's pump should be introduced into the 
mouth, and as much thick gruel pumped down as the attendant 
pleases. When the poor animal has been hungry for two or three 
days through utter impossibility of eating, he will gladly enough 
submit to this operation, and almost offer himself for it. 

It will be almost labour in vain to endeavour to stimulate the skin, 
or to raise a blister. Two, three, or four setons in the dewlap have 
been useful ; and benefit has been derived from shaving the back 
along the whole course of the skin, and cauterising it severely with 
the common firing-iron. If it should be found impracticable to ad- 
minister either food or medicine by the mouth, they must be given in 
the form of clysters. Double the usual quantity of the medicine must 
be given, on account of the probable loss of a portion of it, and the 
small quantity that the absorbents of the intestines may take up ; but 



112 POISONS. 

too much gruel must not be injected, otherwise it will probably be 
returned. A quart will generally be as much as will be retained, and 
the clyster may be repeated five or six times in the course of the 
day. 

Should the progress of the disease have been rapid, and the symp- 
toms violent; or should it be found to be impossible to give medicine 
by the mouth, or cause them to act by injection, the most prudent 
thing will be to have recourse to the butcher. The meat will not be 
in the slightest degree injured, for it is a disease that is rarely accom- 
panied by any great degree of fever. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

POISONS. 

In the early part of the spring, and before the different vegetables 
have attained their proper growth and smell, cattle are liable to be 
injured, and even destroyed, by eating poisonous plants; and espe- 
cially when they are turned into fresh pasture. In some countries 
and in some seasons, when particular plants have prevailed, a great 
many cattle have been lost, and it has appeared as if some epidemic 
disease was raging, until a botanist, accidentally coming into that 
part of the country, has discovered the true cause of the malady. It 
is a great pity that farmers and graziers are not sufficiently acquainted 
with botany to know the different plants, wholesome and poisonous, 
that are growing in their fields. It is a pleasing study, and would be 
an exceedingly useful one to them. 

The plants that are the most dangerous are the different species of 
hemlock, and particularly the water-hemlock, the fox-glove, the drop- 
wort, and some of the species of crows-foot. These plants are not 
useful for any purpose, and it is to be lamented that the farmer is not 
able to recognize them, and root them all up. Young calves and 
lambs, until they have added some experience to the guidance of in- 
stinct, are occasionally lost in very great numbers. 

The yew is a deadly poison, and many cattle have been destroyed 
by it ; but they seldom browse upon it when green. The mischief, 
in the great majority of cases, is done by the half-dried clippings of 
some formal hedge-row or fantastic tree. In this state cattle are very 
apt to eat great quantities of the leaves or shoots. 

Some have thought that cattle are poisoned by drinking from stag- 
nant pools, full of venomous insects and of every kind of decomposi- 
tion from animal and vegetable substances. I doubt the truth of this ; 
for the cow seems to be naturally one of the foulest drinkers among 
our domesticated quadrupeds. She will often choose the most filthy 
puddle in the straw-yard in preference to the clearest running stream. 



POISONS. 113 

Nature would not have given her this propensity to foul and putrid 
drink if it was prejudicial to her. 

The symptoms of empoisonment vary with the plant that has been 
devoured. In genera] the animal moans sadly, as if in dreadful pain ; 
or a sudden stupidity comes upon it — or violent convulsions. After 
eating the yew-clippings, cattle are often perfectly delirious ; and in 
almost every case the belly more rapidly swells than it usually does 
in hoove. 

It is plain that there can be no case in which more speedy and de- 
cisive measures are needed; and yet very little can be done, except 
that useful instrument, far too little known, Read's patent pump, is at 
hand. The pipe should be introduced into the paunch, so that the 
extricated gas which causes the swelling may escape. After this a 
quantity of warm water should be thrown into the stomach, sufficient 
to cause sickness, and thus get rid of a part, at least, of the offending 
matter. Then, by introducing the pipe only a part of the way down 
the gullet, a physic-drink may be gradually introduced, which will 
thus pass on to the fourth stomach, and cause speedy purging, The 
aloes and croton (No. 47, p. Ill), will be the most effectual purga- 
tives. It will usually be advisable to bleed moderately : drinks of 
vinegar and water, not exceeding half a pint of vinegar at a time, 
should be administered if it is suspected that the poison is of a nar- 
cotic kind, and the purging should be kept up by repeated small 
doses of the aperient medicine. When the poison seems to be nearly 
or quite evacuated, a cordial drink will be beneficial in giving tone to 
the. stomach, and the Recipe 31 (p. 79) will be as good as can be 
given. 

Cattle are exposed too much to the influence of poisons of another 
kind, used under the form of medicines. Corrosive sublimate and 
tobacco-water have destroyed many a valuable ox. An antidote is in 
these cases usually quite out of the question, for the constitution is 
fatally affected, before the owner knows anything of the matter. 

Cattle in the neighbourhood of lead-mines have been dangerously 
affected from the effects of this ore in the grass. Difficult respiration 
with loud wheezing is one of the most prominent symptoms, the beast 
losing its appetite, pining away, and at length dying of suffocation or 
attacked by epileptic symptoms. Large doses of Epsom or Glauber's 
salts with linseed oil, and followed by opium, are the best remedies. 
The smoke from copper-mines has also produced sad disease amongst 
animals in the neighbourhood : it causes swellings of the joints of a 
painful description. An early removal to another soil forms the best 
treatment. 

Ranking under the general term of poisons, we may mention the 
bites of venomous reptiles. Our country fortunately knows but one 
that is dangerous, and that is the viper, or adder; and it is very rarely 
that cattle suffer from its sting. The beast is generally stung about 
the head or feet, for it is most likely to disturb these reptiles either in 
the act of browsing, or as it wanders over the pasture. Cattle bitten 
10* 



114 POISONS. 

in the tongue almost invariably die. They are suffocated by the rapid 
swelling which takes place. The udder has occasionally been stung; 
but the supposed bites on the teats are, far oftener than otherwise, 
the effect of garget. 

The country remedy is not a bad one, viz., to rub the part well with 
a bruised onion. Some follow this up by cramming another onion 
down the throat. A better application is the following : — 

RECIPE (No. 49). 
Embrocation for Bite of Viper.— Take hartshorn, and olive oil, equal quantities. 
Shake them well together, and rub the wound and the neighbouring parts well with 
the liniment morning and night. 

A quart of olive oil should also be given to the animal, mixed with 
an ounce of hartshorn. Oil of turpentine may be used when harts- 
horn cannot be procured ; but it is not so much to be depended upon. 

The stings of hornets, wasps, and bees, in some cases produce 
much temporary swelling and pain. If the part is well rubbed with 
warm vinegar, the inconvenience will soon subside. 

Leech-bites may be mentioned here. While the animal is drinking 
from some stagnant pool, a leech will occasionally fasten itself on the 
muzzle, and afterwards creep up the nostril, and produce a very con- 
siderable, and, in some cases, dangerous, bleeding by its bites. If the 
leech can be seen, or it is in a manner certain that it has insinuated 
itself into the nostril, a little strong salt and water should be injected 
up the nose, which will immediately dislodge the intruder, if it can 
be brought into contact with it. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

WO UNDS. 

From the horns of their companions, and from the brutal violence 
of those who look after them, cattle are often exposed to wounds. 
The treatment of them is generally simple enough, except in a joint, 
or the neighbourhood of one. 

The first thing is to clean the wound from all dirt and gravel, which 
would cause irritation, and prevent the healing of the part. A good 
fomentation with warm water will effect this, and at the same time 
will help to abate any inflammation which may probably have arisen. 

Next is to be considered the state of the wound. Is it a lacerated 
or punctured one 1 If it is a lacerated wound, we must try how neatly 
we can bring the divided parts together. If there are any portions so 
torn as to prevent us from doing this completely, they should be re- 
moved with a knife or a sharp pair of scissors. Then, when the edges 
are brought well together, they should be retained by passing a needle 
and strong waxed twine deeply through them, making two, or three, 



WOUNDS. 115 

or more stitches at the distance of half an inch from each other. A 
surgeon's crooked needle, or a glover's large triangularly pointed 
needle, will be necessary for this purpose. A little dry soft clean tow 
should then be placed over the wound, and the whole covered by a 
bandage closely, but not too tightly applied. Let none of the farrier's 
abominable tents, or pledgets of tow, be introduced : the intervals 
between the stitches will be quite sufficient to permit the escape of 
any matter that may be formed. The wound should not, if possible, 
be opened for two days after the first dressing.' 

When it is at length examined, let none of the hot torturing appli- 
cations of the farrier be used. If it looks tolerably healthy, and is 
going on well, it may be dressed with tincture of myrrh and aloes, or 
with the Healing Ointment, (No. 10, p. 53), or with both ; a pledget 
of tow soaked in the tincture being put immediately upon the wound, 
and more tow, with the ointment spread upon it, placed over this. 

If proud flesh should begin to spring, the wound should be first 
washed with a strong solution of blue vitriol, and then dressed with 
the tincture ; or if the discharge is very offensive, the wound should 
be well bathed with the Disinfectant Lotion, (No. 34, p. 85), and 
then the tincture applied. It is high time for all the disgraceful tor- 
turing applications of the farrier and cowleech to be discarded, espe- 
cially as Nature is much kinder to these animals than she is to us; 
and wounds that would in the human being puzzle the surgeon, heal 
readily in cattle, almost without any application. 

If it is a punctured wound, its direction and depth must be care- 
fully ascertained. Fomentations of marsh-mallows, or poppy-heads 
boiled in water, should be applied for a few days, in order to abate 
inflammation, and the tincture of aloes and myrrh should be injected 
into the wound morning and night; the injured parts being covered 
if the flies are troublesome, but otherwise left open. If the wound 
runs downwards and the matter cannot escape, but collects at the 
bottom, and seems to be spreading, a seton should be passed into the 
original orifice, and directed as far as the very lowest part of the 
sinus, or pipe, and there brought out. There is never occasion for 
the introduction of lint into these wounds : if they are well syringed 
with the tincture to the very bottom, and a seton passed through the 
sinus, should one happen to be formed, they will do very well. 

From the yoke being too heavy, or not fitting the neck, the shoul- 
ders of oxen will sometimes get sadly wrung, and deep ulcers will 
be produced, resembling fistulous withers in the horse. These ulcers 
are very troublesome to deal with. The secret, however, of properly 
treating them, is to pass a seton through the very bottom of the ulcer, 
in order that the matter may flow freely out: then, in the majority of 
cases, the wound will readily heal, or if it should not, the diabolical 
scalding mixtures of the farrier are never wanted. If I allowed any 
scalding mixture it would be boiling tar, because tar boils at a very 
low degree of temperature. The surface of the wound would be suf- 
ficiently stimulated, and the life of the part would not be destroyed ; 



116 WOUNDS. 

but he who pours in his boiling oil, or his corrosive sublimate, de- 
serves never more to possess, or to be permitted medically to treat, a 
beast. In obstinate cases diluted nitric acid (one part of nitric acid, 
and two of water) may be applied over the surface of the ulcer, with 
a pencil or sponge. 

When a tumour is forming on the shoulder from the pressure of 
the collar, every attempt should be made to disperse it. A saturated 
solution of common salt will often be useful, or sal ammoniac dis- 
solved in eight times its weight of water; but the best discutient 
application is the following : — 

RECIPE (No. 50.) 

Discutient Lotion. — Take, bay salt, four ounces ; vinegar, one pint ; water, a quart ; 
oil of origanum, a drachm. Add the oil to the salt first, rub them well down with a 
little water, then gradually add the rest of the water and the vinegar. 

The part should not only be wetted with this embrocation, but 
gently, yet well rubbed with it. 

Should the swelling still increase, and, on feeling it, matter should 
evidently be formed, the sooner the tumour is opened the better, and 
the best way to open it is to pass a seton from the top through the 
lowest part of it. 

Oxen are very apt to be wounded in the feet. If this is soon dis- 
covered, all that will be necessary is to apply a pledget of tow wetted 
with tincture of aloes, confining it between the claw r s with a bandage, 
or to touch the part lightly with the butyr of antimony. When the 
application of the caustic is necessary, there is no need to apply it 
with the severity used by some, so as to corrode the parts to the very 
bone. 

If the wound is extensive, and accompanied by much swelling, 
heat, and pain, and especially if the beast should begin to lose its 
appetite, and to heave at the flanks, it will be prudent both to physic 
and to bleed. 

If much contusion or bruise attends the wound, and which is very 
likely to happen when cattle are gadding about and breaking out of 
their pastures in summer, and especially when strange beasts are 
intermixed, the previous fomentation will be more than usually neces- 
sary, in order to prevent inflammation, and to disperse or favour the 
escape of the effused blood. The fomentations should be continued 
during half an hour at each time, and repeated three or four times in 
the day. The flannels should be applied dripping wet, and as hot 
as the hand can bear them. 

If the wound penetrates the cavity of the chest, as it sometimes 
will when one beast gores another, it will be necessary to bring the 
parts more accurately together, and to confine them by closer stitches ; 
a piece of adhesive plaister should then be placed over the wound, 
and secured by the application of proper rollers or bandages. If the 
air is suffered to pass in and out of the wound for any considerable 
time, the edges of it will be indisposed to unite together and to heal, 



WOUNDS. 117 

and the pleura or lining of the chest will probably become inflamed 
by the unnatural presence of air in the cavity of the chest. 

Should the belly be wounded, and a portion of the bowels protrude, 
it will be necessary to calculate the probability of being able to return 
them into their proper situation, and healing; the wound : for in many 
of these cases the best thing the farmer can do is to send the animal 
at once to the butcher. If a cure is attempted, all dirt and clotted 
blood should be carefully removed from the protruded intestine with 
a sponge and warm water. It must then be cautiously returned into 
the belly, and the edges of the wound brought together and secured 
by very close stitches. After that, rollers or bandages must be passed 
round the belly, and which, being removed only while the wound is 
dressed, must remain until a cure is completed, and for a few days 
afterwards. 

In all these cases a veterinary surgeon should be consulted. He 
alone is able to give an accurate opinion as to the probability of a 
cure, and to guard against a thousand accidents and annoyances that 
are likely to occur in the treatment of such a case. 

Many persons are frightened when they see the profuse bleeding 
which sometimes takes place from deep or lacerated wounds. Ex- 
cept some large arterial trunk is divided, there is little or no danger 
of the animal bleeding to death. When a certain quantity of blood 
is lost the stream will flow slowly, and a coagulum, or clot of blood, 
will be formed in the vessel, and plug it up, and afford a mechanica. 
obstruction to the haemorrhage. Sufficient blood, however, may be 
lost, to interfere very materially with the condition of the beast, and 
to leave considerable and lasting weakness behind. We are there- 
fore anxious to stop the bleeding as soon as we can. 

Where the situation will admit of it, a dossil of lint, placed upon 
or in the wound, and secured by a firm bandage, will often be effectual. 
If the vessel is but partly closed by the pressure of the lint, yet that 
may be sufficient to produce a coagulation of the blood, and the con- 
sequent stoppage of the stream. 

The next preferable way of proceeding is to endeavour to pass a 
ligature round the bleeding vessel. This is often practicable by means 
of a tenaculum or any hooked instrument, by which it may be draw r n 
a little from its situation, and some waxed silk or twine passed round 
it. Sometimes it may be laid hold of with a pair of forceps or small 
pincers, and so secured ; or, should neither of these methods be prac- 
ticable, a crooked or glover's needle, armed with waxed silk, may 
be plunged into the flesh or cellular membrane in two or three places 
around the wound, and when the silk is tightened the vein or artery 
will probably be compressed and closed. The hot iron is sometimes 
applied, but usually a great deal too hot, so as to destroy the life of 
the part, instead of simply searing it, and thus causing renewed 
haemorrhage when the dead part is thrown off. As for styptic powders 
or lotions, they appear to have little or no effect in stopping profuse 
bleeding in cattle. 



118 WOUNDS. 

The bleeding is generally arrested with most difficulty when the 
horn is broken off in some of the fights among the cattle. The bone 
of the horn is full of blood-vessels, and it is only by plaister after 
plaister of tar that a compress is made all round the horn, and through 
which the blood cannot penetrate. These plaisters should not be 
removed for many days, otherwise the bleeding from such a vascular 
part will return. 

Of all the wounds, however, to which cattle are occasionally ex- 
posed, the most dangerous are those about the joints, and especially 
when the joint itself is penetrated. The ox is not so subject to this 
as the horse ; but the fetlock and the knee are occasionally deeply 
wounded, and the joint laid open, either by falling, or by being bru- 
tally wounded by a fork. 

Here, as in all other wounds, the first thing to be done is carefully 
to wash away all dirt and gravel. The probe must then be introduced ; 
and the depth to which it will penetrate, and, more particularly, the 
grating sound which will be heard when it comes into contact with 
the bone, will generally determine whether the joint has been injured. 
If any doubt remains about this, a poultice should be applied. This 
will not only abate or prevent inflammation, but if the joint has been 
penetrated, the synovia, or joint oil, will escape, and appear upon the 
poultice in the form of a glairy, yellowish fluid. Then there is no 
doubt as to the course to be pursued. The flow of this must be stopped, 
and that immediately. It was placed there to be interposed between 
the ends of the bones, and thus to prevent them rubbing against each 
other, and becoming irritated or inflamed. The membrane with which 
the heads of the bones are covered is in the highest degree sensitive, 
and with the slightest injury produces inflammation, attended by the 
extremest torture. There is no agony equal to that caused by an 
opened joint. We must then confine the interposed joint oil, and 
prevent this dreadful friction between the membranes. 

There are two ways of accomplishing this. That which seems to 
be the most humane is to place a small compress on the part, exactly 
covering the wound ; to bind it down tight, and not to remove it for 
many days. Yet it has often happened that when the compress has 
at length been taken off, the joint oil has flowed as quickly as before: 
therefore, I believe, we must go back to the old method, and apply 
the hot iron to the wound. The iron, being of a dull red heat, should 
be run lightly across the surface of the wound in various directions, 
the consequence of which will be that so much inflammation and 
swelling will usually be produced, as fairly to block up the orifice 
with that which soon becomes organized, or converted into the same 
substance as that in contact with which it is placed, and thus the 
opening into the joint is securely and for ever stopped ; or, should the 
joint oil in a very few cases afterwards flow a little again, a re-appli- 
cation of the iron will put an end to the business : the sore may then 
be treated as a common wound. 

In many cases a lotion composed of corrosive sublimate dissolved 



WOUNDS. 119 

in spirits of wine, applied several times a day to the surface of the 
wound, only until the joint oil disappears, will answer the purpose 
better than the hot iron. In very severe cases, where the carcase of 
the animal is of trifling value, and it is therefore desirable to attempt 
a cure at all risks, the application of a paste made with flour, and 
firmly bound round the part by a number of linen bandages, will, by 
preventing the flow of joint oil, succeed in closing the joint in many 
cases : the bandages, however, should not be removed for several 
weeks, and if necessary the animal may be slung. 

Should, however, the wound be very large, and the opening into 
the joint large too, it will usually be prudent to destroy the animal at 
once, especially if it is in tolerable condition. A dead horse is worth 
comparatively little, but a dead ox, fairly slaughtered, will produce 
its full value. Therefore, the possibility of a cure not being effected, 
or of the animal materially losing condition while the cure is attempt- 
ed to be performed, should always be taken into account; and in 
cases where the meat is not injured it should be inquired whether the 
expense and trouble, and the sufferings of the animal, should not be 
at once terminated by the butcher. 

These are the only means that should be used. When the farrier 
or the cow-leach wants to inject his corrosive sublimate, or his oil of 
vitriol, let no consideration tempt the farmer to comply. It is cruel 
work, and it does not succeed in one case out of ten. 

These cautions are repeated again and again, for it begins now to 
be generally felt and acknowledged, that we have no right to torture 
and abuse our quadruped servants. 

In every joint case it will be prudent to bleed, and administer a 
dose of physic, and use all proper means to prevent or abate fever. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

STRAINS AND BRUISES. 

The ox is not so subject as the horse to strains, for his work is 
slower and usually less laborious. The horse is seldom strained at 
slow and steady work, and that only is generally exacted from the 
ox. The principal cause of strain in these animals arises from their 
contests with, or their riding or ramping each other. 

In recent strains, attended with lameness and heat, the following 
is one of the best embrocations that can be used : — 

RECIPE (No. 51). 
Embrocation for Straws. — Take bay salt, four ounces ; oil of origanum, one drachm ; 
rub thein well together, until the salt is reduced to a powder, then add vinegar, half a 
pint ; spirits of wine, two ounces ; water, a quart. 



120 STRAINS AND BRUISES. 

Bathe the part frequently with this emhrocation. There cannot be 
a better application for strains or bruises in the horse or cattle, or 
even in the human being, when the skin is not broken. When the 
heat and tenderness have somewhat subsided, and only weakness of 
the part remains, the Rheumatic Embrocation (Recipe No. 9, p. 52) 
will be serviceable. 

Frequent fomentations with warm water should precede the use of 
these embrocations. In bad cases it may be prudent to give a dose 
of physic, or even to bleed. 

For very deeply-seated strains a more powerful application may be 
necessary. Then use the following : — 

RECIPE (No. 52). 
Strongest Embrocation for Strains. — Take spirit of turpentine, half a pint ; oil of 
origanum, half an ounce ; olife oil, a pint and a half; cantharides, one ounce. Mix 
them together, shake them often, and keep them in a bottle for use. 

This should be well rubbed in morning and night. It is not in- 
tended absolutely to blister the animal ; and should the embrocation 
cause much redness or tenderness, it may be lowered with an equal 
quantity of olive oil. 

After all, a considerable degree of weakness and lameness will 
occasionally remain, and especially about the hips and loins. A 
strengthening plaster will be very useful here. It is best applied in 
the form of a charge. 

RECIPE (No. 53). 
Charge for old Strains or Lameness. — Take Burgundy pitch, four ounces ; common 
pitch, four ounces; yellow wax, two ounces; Barbadoes tar, six ounces. Melt them 
together in a ladle, and apply the. mixture to the parts when thoroughly warm and 
liquid. 

A little short tow is then placed over this, before it gets cool, and 
which, adhering to it, forms a thick coat over it. The charge acts as 
a support to the part, and as a permanent bandage. It can never do 
harm ; and many an old strain, or lameness, or rheumatic affection, 
has been effectually removed by it. It should remain on the part two 
or three months, in order to ensure its full success ; and after the ap- 
plication of the charge, the beast should be turned out. 

Although not exposed so much as the horse to strains generally, 
yet there is one joint — the fetlock — in the ox, which often suffers. 
The division of the lower part of the leg into two bones materially 
weakens this joint : therefore it is not unusual to see enlarged fetlocks, 
and a considerable accumulation of bone about them. The mild and 
the strong embrocation must in turns be diligently applied, and these 
failing of success, recourse must be speedily had to the blister, or the 
firing iron ; but, if these should not be successful, and the lameness 
is so considerable as to injure the condition of the animal, relief can 
be obtained by dividing the nerve which supplies the foot above the 
fetlock, thereby removing pain and lameness by destroying sen- 
sation. 



CANCEROUS ULCERS. 121 

Fractures of the leg sometimes occur ; they have been successfully 
treated by bandaging the parts, and keeping the animal quiet. 

The leg too has even been amputated with success, a wooden leg 
beingr afterwards substituted. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

CANCEROUS ULCERS. 

There seems to be a natural disposition in cattle to the formation 
of tumours on various parts of the body. They are mostly found in 
the neighbourhood of joints, and generally either hanging loose, or 
slightly adhering to the parts beneath. They sometimes grow to an 
excessive size. In some cases they are evidently constitutional, for 
many of them appear on different parts. They do not seem to give 
much pain to the animal, and occasionally they continue month after 
month without being of any serious inconvenience : they then suddenly 
break, and a malignant ulcer ensues, which speedily degenerates into 
a cancerous one. 

The tumours are sometimes smaller, and fixed to the parts beneath 
by a broad base, and which are chiefly found about the face, on the 
cheeks, or under the eyelids, or in the channel between the jaws. 
These are more likely to break than the others, and when they break 
are far less manageable. The fluid that is discharged from them is 
thin and excoriating, and the w T ounds are covered with proud flesh, 
springing again as quickly as it is removed. If they are attacked 
before they break they will generally be got rid of. 

As an external application nothing is superior to the Iodine Oint- 
ment, (No. 25, p. 69). 

At the same time a drachm of the tincture of iodine may be given 
in a little gruel morning and night, at or soon after the time of feed- 
ing; or the Hydriodate of Potash, beginning with four grains morn- 
ing and night, and gradually increasing the dose to twelve grains. 
This preparation of iodine is preferable to the tincture; but the inter- 
nal and the external use of the iodine must be continued at least three 
or four weeks, before any decisive benefit will be obtained. The 
tumours will frequently disappear altogether ; but the ointment and 
tincture must be used for at least a month before any decisive good 
can be expected. 

If the tumours at the end of that time should not be evidently 
diminishing, the veterinary surgeon should begin to think about 
removing them with the knife. They are seldom fed by any very 
considerable vessel, and may usually be taken away without the 
slightest danger. It will however be prudent to give the tincture of 
iodine for three weeks or a month after the operation, in order to re- 
move the constitutional tendency to a return of the tumours. 
11 



122 ANGLE BERRIES. 

It will in the majority of cases be useless to attempt to heal these 
tumours when they have once broken. Strong ointments, and caustics 
of all kinds, have been tried, but the ulcer has daily spread and gone 
deeper and deeper, until it became necessary to destroy the animal. 
If anything is attempted in the way of healing the ulcers, the wound 
should be washed before every dressing with the tincture of iodine, 
lowered with four times its weight of water, and the Healing Clean- 
sing Ointment (Recipe 10, p. 53) be daily applied. 

These tumours are often very troublesome to treat, and the prefer- 
able way will generally be -to remove them as soon as possible with 
the knife, except more should be found on any other part of the beast, 
in which case the removal of the principal tumour would only hasten 
the growth of the rest. Mercurial ointment will have no effect on 
these tumours, except to irritate them, and cause them to grow faster, 
and sometimes it will salivate and seriously injure the beast. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

ANGLE BERRIES. 

These are little warty tumours growing on various parts of the 
skin. They are unpleasant to the eye, and they sometimes become 
very sore. 

They are a sad nuisance about the teats, and often render the cow 
very difficult to milk ; and, on the eyelids, they are a source of per- 
petual torment to the animal. The easiest and surest way to remove 
them is to tie a piece of waxed silk firmly round the base of each, 
and to tighten it every day : by means of this the tumour will drop 
off, and rarely grow again ; there will be no bleeding, and the neigh- 
bouring parts will not be inoculated. 

If they are so numerous and large that it is necessary to have re- 
course to the cautery, the heated iron should be immediately applied 
to the angle berry. The bleeding will thus be readily stopped, and 
the tumour will not sprout anew. 

If they are early attended to, and before they have reached any 
considerable size, they will gradually disappear when they are daily 
touched with the nitrate of silver, either in substance, or in the form 
of a strong solution. The strong nitrous acid will answer the same 
purpose. When there is an inveterate disposition to the growth of 
these berries, the iodine may be given, as already directed, with every 
prospect of success. 



THE FOUL IN THE FOOT. 123 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE FOUL IN THE FOOT. 

This is also a troublesome and obstinate disease. It consists of 
ulcers of the foot, usually about the coronet, running under the horn, 
and causing more or less separation of it, with intense pain and lame- 
ness. It is produced by cattle being pastured too long on wet and 
poachy land, or their being driven too far over a hard and flinty road. 
It generally first appears between the claws in the form of a crack, 
extending from the coronet down the foot, with considerable inflam- 
mation, and the discharge of a stinking matter or pus. At other times 
a little swelling appears on the coronet between the hair and hoof, 
which breaks, and likewise discharges much stinking matter ; and 
on being examined with a probe, a sinus or pipe will be discovered 
descending from the coronet down the foot and under the horn. The 
pain is often so great that the animal altogether refuses his food, and 
becomes as thin as a skeleton. The being pricked in shoeing is not 
an unfrequent cause of foul in the foot, especially if the ox be hardly 
worked afterwards, or turned on damp and boggy grounds. It very 
much Tesembles quittor in the horse, and must be treated in the same 
way. 

The first thing to be done is to examine the wound carefully, and 
6ee how far it extends under the horn. If there is little or no under- 
running, the case may be easily and successfully treated. The country 
practice is to clean the part carefully, and then take a small cart-rope, 
or a pair of cow-hopples, and chafe them backward and forward be- 
tween the claws for four or five minutes, and afterwards to dress the 
sore with a little*"butyr of antimony, and turn the beast into a dry 
pasture. 

I should object to this, that it seems to be a very rough and cruel 
way of going to work. All that is necessary is, after cleaning the 
part well, to cut away all loose or separated horn, and all proud flesh, 
and then lightly apply the butyr to the sore. There will not be much 
difficulty in effecting a cure if the case is taken in time, and the sore 
kept dry while under treatment. 

Should, however, the pasterns swell, and be hot and tender, as 
they will do if the case has been neglected, or any gravel has in- 
sinuated itself between the horn and the foot, the wound must be 
more carefully examined, every sinus must be laid open to the very 
bottom, and cleansed, and touched with the caustic. A poultice tif 
linseed meal should then be applied, and changed morning and night 
until the swelling and inflammation have subsided, when the caustic 
may be again employed, but not more severely than the case seems 
to require. It is the frequent light application of the butyr, and not 



124 TO DRY A COW OF HER MILK. 

the cruel burning to the very bone, that will soonest and most per- 
fectly effect a cure. 

In a few cases the foul in the foot cannot be traced to any external 
injury, but seems to be the result of natural foulness of the habit. It 
then resembles grease in the horse, and must be similarly treated. A 
brisk dose of physic should be given, and when that has ceased to 
operate, the Diuretic Drink (No. 26, p. 69) every morning. The 
sores, if foul and hot, should be cleaned and cooled by poulticing for 
a few days, and then the feet should be washed morning and night 
with a tolerably strong solution of alum in water. A moderate bleed- 
ing will be serviceable in such a case. It should not be forgotten 
that foul in the foot is a highly infectious disease, and that the lame 
beast should be speedily removed from his companions. 

Foul in the foot is a most serious disease when it breaks out in a 
dairy. It preys upon the health of the animal, and thus, to a degree 
almost incredible, lessens the quantity of milk which the animal 
yields. The grazier likewise severely suffers when it retards the 
fattening of his store-cattle. Much suffering speedily and most inju- 
riously preys upon these animals. They were not designed to endure* 
it, or to be exposed to the usual exciting causes of it. Lameness in 
cattle should, therefore, never be for a moment neglected. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

TO DRY A COW OF HER MILK. 

It is often necessary to dry up the milk when cows are wanted 
speedily to fatten, and this is now and then found to be a difficult 
matter, especially with large and gross beasts. If the flow of milk is 
suffered to continue, it may overload the udder, and produce inflam- 
mation of it, or garget, or general fever, or inflammation of the lungs, 
or foul in the foot. 

The best time to dry the cows is very early in the spring, when 
they are eating dry meat. A good dose of physic, followed by mild 
astringent drinks, will usually settle the business, especially if she 
is moderately bled before the physic is given. Alum in the form of 
whey (No. 19, p. 64), or dissolved in water, will be the most effectual, 
as well as the safest astringent. Six drachms will be the medium 
dose. The cow may be milked clean when the astringent is given, 
and then turned on some dry upland pasture. 

Two days afterwards she should be examined, and if the udder is 
not overloaded, nor hard nor hot, the milking may be discontinued ; 
but if the udder is hard and full, and especially if it is hot, she should 
be fetched home, cleanly milked, and another astringent drink given. 
The third drink, if it is necessary to give one, should be an aperient 



THE MANGE. 125 

arte, and after that the Diuretic Drink (No. 26, p. 69) every second 
day. 

The milking - should only be resorted to if the state of the udder 
absolutely requires it, for every act of milking is but encouraging the 
secretion of milk. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE MANGE. 

This is a troublesome and a disgraceful disease. It argues bad 
management in some way or other. An occasional cause is over- 
feeding, especially with hot, stimulating food. A more frequent one 
is starvation in the winter, by which the animal is so much debilitated 
that he cannot support the change of diet when the flush of grass 
comes on, and nature, overloaded, relieves herself by this eruption on 
the skin. A third cause is filth, and in the cow-houses of many little 
farmers it is not an unfrequent one. The last cause that I shall men- 
tion is contagion : mange is highly contagious, and if it gets into a 
dairy will often run through all the cows. 

When there is not much eruption, the disease is recognised by the 
hide-bound appearance of the animal; the dryness and harshness of 
the hair; its readily coming off; the beast continually rubbing him- 
self; and a white scurfiness, but not often much scabbiness, being 
seen on various parts. 

Medicine alone will be of no avail here. The beast must be dressed. 
There is no occasion to use anything poisonous for this purpose, as 
cow-leeches are too much in the habit of doing. The corrosive subli- 
mate and hellebore and tobacco should rarely be suffered in the dairy. 
They have destroyed hundreds of cattle. 

The most effectual application is an ointment of which sulphur is 
the principal ingredient. Some mercurial ointment, however, must 
be added, but in no great quantity, for cattle will lick themselves, 
and salivation may ensue. There is nothing so injurious to the milk, 
or to the fattening of the beast, as salivation, even in a slight degree. 

RECIPE (No. 54). 
Mange Ointment. — Take flower of sulphur, a pound; strong mercurial ointment, 
two ounces; common turpentine, half a pound; lard, a pound and a half. Melt the 
turpentine and the lard together, well stir in the sulphur when these begin to cool ; 
and afterwards rub down the mercurial ointment on a marble 6lab, with the other 
ingredients. 

This should be well rubbed in with the hand daily, wherever there 
is mange, the hair being carefully separated where the affected part 
is covered by it. No possible danger can happen from the prolonged 
use of this ointment if the animal is not exposed to severe cold, 
il* 



126 DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 

Alterative medicine will materially assist the cure. The following 
may be given without injury to the milk, and without any precaution 
being needed : — 

RECIPE (No. 55). 
Alterative Drink — Take flower of sulphur, two ounces; black sulphuret of anti- 
mony, one ounce ; ^Ethiop's mineral, half an ounce; nitre, two ounces. Mix, and 
divide into four powders; give one every second morning in a little thick gruel. 
Turning into a salt marsh will be an excellent auxiliary. 

Connected with mange, generally accompanying it, and often pro- 
ducing it, are lice. The presence of these vermin argues extreme 
negligence, and is an absolute disgrace to the farmer. They rapidly 
spread from cow to cow ; the slightest touch transfers some of them 
from one beast to another ; they are crawling continually in the stable 
or on the pasture ; and although they are never originally bred in the 
skin of a diseased animal, yet in one that has been half starved or 
mangy, and whose coat clings to the skin, and will not come off 
when nature usually sheds it, these vermin find too favourable a 
shelter. They are both the consequence and the cause of mange, 
and other affections of the skin. Myriads of them are sometimes 
found on the poor beast, teaming it almost to death. 

The mange ointment above recommended will often be effectual in 
destroying them, or should it not be sufficiently powerful, a weaker 
kind of mercurial ointment may be applied. 

RECIPE (No. 56). 
Mercurial Ointment for Vermin. — Take strong mercurial ointment, one ounce ; 
lard, seven ounces. Mix them well together, and rub the ointment well on wherever 
the lice appear. 

Some prefer a lotion : the best is — 

RECIPE (No. 57). 
Lotion for Vermin. — Take corrosive sublimate, two drachms ; rub it down in two 
ounces of spirit of wine, and add a pint of water. 

This is strong enough to kill the vermin, but cannot possibly injure 
the beast. An ointment, however, is best, for it can be more tho- 
roughly rubbed among the hair, and into every lurking-place which 
the vermin may occupy. A portion of the liquid is often lost in the 
act of applying it. The ointment or the lotion should be used daily, 
and three or four dressings will generally remove the nuisance. 

Scotch snuff has been dusted on the beast with partial good effect : 
the animalculae have been thinned, but not extirpated. The snuff 
cannot possibly reach half of them. 

While the lice are attacked, the condition of the animal should, 
if possible, be improved. Poverty and bad condition are sad encou- 
ragers of these pests. The alterative drink just recommended may 
be advantageously combined with tonics. 

[The Boston Cultivator says :—" Many of our patrons inform us that their own 
experience confirms our doctrine, as to the facility of destroying lice on cattle by 
means of sand or any fine dust sifted into their hair. Mr. Hardy, of Waltham, 
Massachusetts, one of our observing and successful farmers, says cattle that lie in 



VERMIN. 127 

the dirt will never be lousy." Mr. C. Bullare, of Farmingham, who keeps the best 
of cattle, says that "dirt or any fine powder sifted into the hair, will destroy ver- 
min." 

Instinct teaches partridges and other game to wallow in dusty places to keep ofT 
vermin; and for the same purpose, every poultry yard should be provided with heaps 
of fine dust and ashes. — S ] 

RECIPE (No. 58). 
Alterative Tonic Powders.— Take flower of sulphur, four ounces ; black sulphuret 
of antimony, one ounce; ^Ethiop's mineral, half an ounce; nitre, two ounces; pow- 
dered gentian, two ounces; powdered ginger, one ounce. Mix, and divide into six 
powders, and give one daily. 

Warbles may here be not improperly considered. The breeze or 
gad-fly, or ox-fly, appears about the end of summer, and is a sad an- 
noyance to the ox. At the very hum of the insect the cattle will 
gallop distractedly over the field, and sometimes do themselves se- 
rious injury. When the fly has the opportunity of alighting on the 
beast, he chooses the back or the loins, and piercing the skin, deposits 
an egg under it. Some venom is also distilled into the wound, for a 
tumour is shortly afterwards formed, varying from the size of an 
hazel-nut to that of an egg. It is a kind of abscess, for it speedily 
bursts, and leaves a little hole on the top of it for the grub, which is 
now hatched, to breathe, and where he lives on the fatty matter that 
he finds in this curious abode. 

These warbles are often a sad nuisance to the animal. He licks 
them when he can get at them, and rubs himself violently on any- 
thing within his reach. 

Country people sometimes get rid of them by compressing them 
between the finger and thumb, and forcing the maggot out. Others, 
with more certain effect, either pull off the scab around the mouth 
of the tumour, or open it with a lancet or penknife, and then pour in 
a few drops of spirit of turpentine, or introduce a heated needle. 

The farmer is scarcely aware how much injury this fly does to the 
hide; for, although the holes may apparently close up, that part will 
always be weak. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

TO PRODUCE BULLING IN THE COW, AND TREATMENT OF BULL-BURNT. 

It sometimes happens that the cow will not stand to the bull at the 
time that the farmer wished, so that either the calf is dropped a month 
or two after the most convenient and profitable time, or the most 
valuable season for making butter and cheese is lost. Some cows 
are thus backward because they have been previously starved ; a 
week or fortnight's better keeping will usually effect the desired 
purpose. Indeed, if the animal has been well kept, and is in good 



128 BULLING IN THE COW, &C. 

health, there will be little trouble from her unwillingness to associate 
with the bull, but occasionally some of a contrary nature. 

Many recipes have been given by various authors to hasten the 
period of the cow being in season. A very common thing with the 
farmer is to give the cow that is wanted to take the bull a quart of 
milk immediately after it has been drawn from a cow that is in sea- 
son. Two or three good cordial drinks, such as that recommended in 
Recipe 31, (p. 79),\vill be more serviceable. A few malt mashes, 
oats, carrots, &c, may likewise be given. I would earnestly advise 
the farmer never to have recourse to cantharides. It is a dangerously 
stimulating medicine : some cows have had suppression of urine 
quickly following the exhibition of it, and others have died from in- 
flammation of the sexual parts. 

On the other hand, cows should not be too fat at this time, because 
they will frequently then not stand the bulling. A fat cow should 
have a dose or two of physic and be bled ; a lean cow requires better 
keeping. 

The sheath and penis of the bull occasionally becomes swollen and 
tender, and full of little ulcers, with fetid ichorous discharge. The 
animal can seldom be managed unless he is thrown, when the yard 
should be drawn out, and all the sore places bathed with the follow- 
ing lotion : — 

RECIPE (No. 59). 

Lotion for Bull-burnt.— Take Goulard's extract, one ounce ; spirit of wine, two 
ounces; water, half a pint. Mix. 

A few applications of this will give speedy relief, and heal the 
sores. 

The shape of the cow will sometimes inflame and swell, accom- 
panied with considerable pain at the time of staling, and also a thin 
ichorous discharge. The part should be washed with this lotion, or a 
little of it ejected up the shape with a syringe. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

THE COW-POX. 

This disease used to be generally confounded with sore teats, until 
the immortal Jenner discovered its preservative power against small- 
pox. Other scientific men have since proved that it is identical with 
small-pox, — that it is, in fact, the small-pox of the cow. 

It appears under the form of pustules or vesicles on the teats, which 
are easily broken in milking, and which, left alone, break of them- 
selves, and discharge a thin, unhealthy fluid. The pustules are sur- 
rounded by a broad circle of inflammation, and if neglected, or roughly 
handled, occasionally run into ulcers, very foul, and difficult to heal. 



cow-pox. 129 

At the time of, or a little before, the appearance of the pustules, 
the animal droops, refuses to feed, ceases to ruminate, and labours 
under considerable fever. The eyes are heavy and dull ; the cow 
moans and wanders about by herself, and her milk materially lessens, 
and at length is almost suspended. 

It will rarely be prudent to bleed, but the bowels should be fairly 
opened, and the fever drink, (No. 1, p. 46), given once or twice in 
the day, according to the apparent degree of fever. The teats should 
be frequently washed with warm water, and the following lotion ap- 
plied morning and night : — 

RECIPE (No. 60). 
Lotion for Cow-pox. — Take sal ammoniac, a quarter of an ounce; white wine 
vinegar, half a pint; camphorated spirit of wine, two ounces; Goulard's extract, an 
ounce. Mix, and keep them in a bottle for use. 

If the ulcers become very foul, and difficult to heal, they must be 
treated in the way recommended for garget. 

It is well known that these eruptions give a similar disease to the 
milker. Pustules appear about the joints of the hand, and the ends 
of the fingers ; and there is sometimes considerable fever, pain in the 
head and limbs and loins, shivering, vomiting, and a quickened pulse. 
The pustules burst in three or four days, and sometimes become trou- 
blesome sores difficult to heal ; and if unfortunately the patient should 
have rubbed his cheek or his lips with the diseased hand, the ulcers 
will appear there also. 

It was the observation that persons who had had this disease of the 
cow were usually exempt from small-pox, which led to the most im- 
portant discovery in medicine that has been made in modern times. 

There is another eruption on the teat of the cow that beurs no in- 
considerable resemblance to the true cow-pox, and that has been 
confounded with it. The pustules are smaller : they are not so round, 
nor so deep; nor have they the blue colour of the others, and they 
contain pus or matter from the very first. They will readily yield to 
the ointment for sore teats recommended in Recipe 29 (p. 75). 

Even without any application to them, the scabs usually peel off in 
a few days, and the skin underneath is quite sound. If, however, 
these are carelessly rubbed off in the act of milking, troublesome 
ulcers are apt to ensue. 

It is of much importance to the farmer to be able to distinguish 
between these two eruptions. The first is contagious, and may be 
communicated to the milk-maid, and, by her, to other cows. It is 
the true cow-pox. The second is not contagious, and is readily got 
rid of. 



130 CLUE-BOUND — FARDEL-BOUND. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

CLUE-BOUND. FARDEL-BOUND. 

These are different terms for costiveness, to which cattle are often 
subject, and especially in the beginning of almost all inflammatory 
complaints. The dung gets more tenacious and harder, and is forced 
away in very small quantities. There is considerable dryness of the 
muzzle, heat of the mouth, quickness of the pulse, anxiety of the 
countenance, and every indication of fever. Sometimes the disease is 
evidently in the bowels principally or entirely ; at other times it is 
only the symptom or accompaniment of other diseases. It always 
requires immediate attention, and may be considered as highly dan- 
gerous. Bleeding will be very useful, not only as lowering the fever, 
but disposing the purgative medicine to act more speedily. After 
bleeding, the bowels should be attacked in good earnest. The physic 
drinks already recommended should be given, — at first, the mild one 
(No. 2, p. 47). If that, repeated after an interval of six hours, is not 
successful, the stronger dose (No. 47, p. Ill) should be tried: and 
if that also fails, a pound of common salt should be administered, and 
repeated four hours afterwards. This will seldom deceive, in extreme 
cases, although, from its irritating the bowels a little too much, it is 
not a purgative to be recommended in ordinary cases. 

The action of the purgatives will be hastened, and generally secured, 
by the use of injections ; and here also Read's patent pump will be 
advantageously employed. Half a pailful of warm water, in which 
Epsom salt or common salt has been dissolved, may be thrown up 
every two or three hours. 

After the obstruction has been once overcome, the continued exhi- 
bition of mild purgatives will be prudent, for the costiveness is too 
apt to return. The Sulphur Purging Drink (No. 7, p. 52) will be the 
best medicine for this purpose. The food should be mashes princi- 
pally, or young succulent grass. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

RABIES. HYDROPHOBIA. 

This dreadful disease is produced by the bite of a rabid or mad 
dog. The time that may elapse between the bite and the appearance 
of the malady varies from three weeks to three or four months. 



RABIES HYDROPHOBIA. 131 

The symptoms of its approach are dulness ; loss of appetite ; the 
eyes are anxious, protruding, and red ; the animal frequently and 
pitifully lows, and is continually voiding its dung or its urine. Saliva 
drivels plentifully from the mouth, but after a day or two the discharge 
dries up, and is succeeded by thirst almost insatiable: fhere is no 
hydrophobia, or dread of water, at any time. Presently weakness of 
the loins and staggering appear : these are succeeded by palsy of the 
hind limbs, and the animal lingers six or seven days, and dies. 

In some cases the beast is dreadfully ferocious : he runs furiously 
at every object, stands across the path bellowing and tearing up the 
ground, and violently attacks and gores his companions. 

There is no cure ; the most prudent thing is to destroy the animal 
as soon as the disease is sufficiently plain. Care should be taken 
that the saliva of the rabid ox is not received on a wound or abraded 
part, for it has produced the disease in other animals. Any wound 
on which it has fallen should immediately have the lunar caustic 
applied to it. 

When a mad dog has been known to bite an ox, or a cow, there is 
a possibility of their escape, for the hide is thick, and the hair is thick 
too, and the skin may not be penetrated, or the tooth may have been 
cleaned in passing through the hair. They should be most carefully 
examined, and especially about the part on which they were seized 
by the dog, and if the minutest scratch can be found, the hair must 
be cut off round it, and the lunar caustic applied. That being done 
effectually, and every bite being discovered and operated on, the 
animal is safe; but it is possible, or rather it is too probable, that 
every bite will not be discovered, considering how thickly the skin 
is covered by hair. It is, therefore, the safest course, if the beast is 
in tolerable condition, to sell it at once to the butcher, for it will not 
be fit for the shambles after rabies has once appeared. Medicine 
would be perfectly thrown away in these cases. The stories which 
are prevalent in every village, of the wonderful power of certain 
drinks, are all founded either on ignorance or fraud. There is no 
cure ; and no prevention but the destruction of the part. 



CHAPTER XL. 

THE DISEASES INCIDENT TO YOUNG CALVES. 

When the calf is dropped, proper care 6hould be taken of the cow- 
by providing her with a comfortable place to lie down : she should 
also be suffered freely to lick her calf, for this will not only make her 
fond of it, but the young animal will be thoroughly cleansed, and 
raised much sooner than it otherwise would ; and the mother, in eat- 



132 DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 

ing the cleansing, will obtain that medicine which nature designed 
for her. 

It is usual to take away a quart of the first milk, called the beast- 
ings, before the calf is allowed to suck. After this the young- animal 
may be allowed access to the cow, but regulated by the plan of suck- 
ling or bringing up on which the grazier may determine. The calf 
should remain with the mother during a few days at least, or until 
the milk is proper for the purposes of the dairy. 

The mother's first milk is of an aperient quality, and sufficiently so 
to cleanse the bowels of the calf from the black sticky substance 
which they contain when first dropped. If this should not be effected, 
a little opening medicine will be necessary. 

RECIPE (No. 61), 
Jlpcrient Drink for Calves.— Take epsom salts, from one to two ounces, according 
to the size and age of the calf, and dissolve in half a pint of gruel ; then add ginger, 
a scruple ; essence of peppermint, three drops. 

The Epsom salts are as efficacious as any kind of oil for purging 
young cattle, as well as far less expensive than most oils. Custom, 
however, has sanctioned the almost general use of castor oil in these 
cases, and there is no objection to it. 

After the first or second day it will be prudent to tie the calf in a 
corner of the hovel, that it may not be always sucking the mother, 
for it might overgorge itself with milk, which would coagulate in the 
fourth stomach, and choke it up, and produce disease, and even death. 
If it is evident that the cow would yield more milk than the calf 
should have, it is the custom, and very properly, to take away a por- 
tion of it from her two or three times in the day, before the young 
one is unfastened. 

The time that the calf, after this, remains with the mother is chiefly 
regulated by the system which the breeder usually pursues, but refer- 
ence should always be had to the state of the cow's udder. If it is 
perfectly free from knobs, or kernels, or hardness, the calf may be 
removed at a comparatively early period ; but if any induration of the 
teats appears, the young animal should be permitted to suck a while 
longer. The frequent sucking will prevent the milk from curdling in 
the udder; and also the friction and shaking of the bag, by the jolting 
of the calf's head in the act of sucking, will contribute not a little to 
the dispersion of the tumours. I have already spoken of garget, and 
shown that a very prevalent cause of it is the weaning of the calf too 
soon. 

Few things are more injurious than the exposure of the young calf 
to wet and cold. It lays a foundation for rheumatism and hoose, 
which no medical treatment can afterwards remove. 

For every information with regard to the rearing of calves from the 
pail, the reader is referred to the newest edition of " The Complete 
Grazier;" or the treatise on " Cattle," published by the Useful Know- 
ledge Society, both of which should find a place in the library of 
every agriculturist. 



DISEASES OP YOUNG CALVES. 133 

Bleeding from the navel string is not an uncommon complaint 
among calves, and it is a very troublesome one. The first thing to be 
done is to pass another ligature round the string nearer to the body ; 
for if the bleeding is not stopped the life of the young animal will 
sometimes be endangered. It may happen, however, that the first 
ligature may have been nearer to the belly than it ought to have been, 
so near, indeed, that another cannot be passed within it. A pledget 
of lint that has been dipped in a decoction of galls (half-a-dozen galls 
bruised, and boiled in half-a-pint of water), should be placed over the 
part, and confined with a proper bandage. This will be far preferable 
to the blue vitriol, and oil of vitriol, which some cow-leeches are so 
fond of applying. It will stop the blood, but not eat into and destroy 
the part. 

From the application of the caustic, or even of the second ligature, 
a great deal of swelling will sometimes take place. This should be 
well fomented until inflammation is pretty nearly subdued. The 
after-treatment will depend on circumstances. If there is a solid 
tumour, the fomentation, or a poultice, must be continued until the 
swelling breaks, or points so decidedly that it may be opened with a 
lancet. Poultices must then be applied until the matter has fairly 
run out, after which a little Friar's Balsam will usually complete the 
cure. 

In consequence of the bleeding and discharge of matter, the calf 
will sometimes be exceedingly reduced; some tonic medicine will 
then be necessary. The Recipe No. 13 (p. 54), given in half-doses, 
will be serviceable, and at the same time the calf should be forced 
with good oatmeal or peameal gruel. 

DI ARRHffi A. 

One of the most frequent and fatal diseases to which young calves 
are subject is diarrhoea, or violent purging. It occurs most frequently 
when the young animal is from a fortnight to six weeks old, and is 
in the majority of cases the consequence of neglect. The calf has 
been too early exposed to cold and wet, or has been half starved, and 
then one full and hearty meal often disarranges the whole alimentary 
canal. It is bad policy to stint the calf too much in its quantity of 
milk. The loss of two or three calves in the course of a year will 
more than swallow up the supposed saving resulting from a system 
of starvation. 

At the time of weaning, or when the food is changed from milk to 
gruel or porridge, diarrhoea and dysentery are very apt to occur, and 
are subdued with great difficulty. The weaning and change of food 
should be effected slowly, and with a great deal of caution. The 
new milk should be mixed with the skim milk or gruel which is 
afterwards to be substituted, and the quantity of the one gradually 
diminished, while the other is as cautiously increased. 

The symptoms of diarrhoea in calves are, continual purging; the 
matter discharged is covered with more than its natural quantity of 
12 



134 DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 

mucus; sometimes it is bloody, and often fetid; the animal loathes 
its food, staggers as it walks, and becomes rapidly thin. Towards 
the last stao-e of the disease the dung is more and more fetid and 
bloody, a greater portion of mucus mixes with it, and at length the 
discharge seems to be composed of mucus and blood, with scarcely 
any mixture of natural fecal matter. When this occurs there is little 
or no hope of cure. 

The principal thing is to treat these diseases in time, before the 
mucous coat of the intestines becomes so inflamed that a bloody dis- 
charge ensues which soon wears the animal down. 

Much acidity in the stomach and bowels attends all these com- 
plaints ; therefore, it is necessary to get rid of it, first of all, by the 
administration of a mild purgative, and afterwards by the exhibition 
of chalk, or some other medicine with which the acid will really 
combine. Two ounces of castor oil, or four of Epsom salts, may be 
given. 

Opium in some form or other must always be united with the 
chalk. It is of no use to get rid of one complaint when others are 
lurking and ready to appear. It will not be sufficient to neutralize 
the acidity of the stomach ; the mouths of the vessels that are pour- 
ing out all this mucus and blood must be stopped ; and we have not 
a more powerful or useful medicine than this in our whole catalogue 
of drugs. It acts by removing the irritation about the orifices of the 
exhalent vessels, and when this is effected they will cease to pour 
out so much fluid. Other astringents may be added, and a carmina- 
tive mingled with the whole to recall the appetite, and rouse the 
bowels to healthy action. The following medicine will present the 
best combination of all these things : — 

RECIPE (No. 62). 
Take preparer! chalk, two drachms; powdered opium, ten grains ; powdered cate- 
chu, half a drachm ; ginger, half a drachm ; essence of peppermint, five drops. Mix, 
and give twice every day in half a pint of gruel. 

This will be the proper dose for a calf from a fortnight to two 
months old. If the animal is older the dose may be increased one- 
half. The common Dalby's Carminative is not a bad medicine, 
although a dear one, and may be given in doses of half a bottle at a 
time, when it happens to be at hand, and the case is urgent, and the 
drugs which compose Recipe No. 62 cannot be immediately pro- 
cured. 

When these preparations have been given some time, and have 

failed to stop the purging, I have known the following given with 

very good effect : — , 

RECIPE (No. 63). 

Take Dover's powder, two scruples ; starch, or arrow-root, in powder, one ounce ; 
compound cinnamon powder, one drachm ; powdered kino, half a drachm. Boil the 
starch or arrow-root in a pint of water until it becomes well thickened, and Uien 
gradually stir in the other ingredients. 

This may be given morning and night. 



COSTIVENESS. 135 

When constant and violent straining accompanies the expulsion 
of the dung, an injection of a pint of thick gruel, with which half a 
drachm of powdered opium has been mixed, will be very useful. 

Diarrhoea will often in the early stage be accompanied not only by 
inflammation of the bowels, but much general fever. This will be 
known by much panting, heat of the mouth, and uneasiness, the 
animal lying down and getting up again, rolling, or kicking at its 
belly. It will then be prudent to bleed. A pint will be the proper 
quantity to be taken from a calf under a month ; after that an addi- 
tional ounce may be taken for every month. When, however, the 
diarrhoea has been long established, and the calf is getting weak and 
rapidly losing flesh, it would be madness to bleed ; the strength of 
the animal would be more speedily exhausted, and its death hastened. 
Chalk, or starch, astringents, and carminatives will then afford the 
only rational hope of success. After the cure has been completed, 
much care should be taken respecting the diet of the animal ; and it 
will sometimes be useful to give him a lump of chalk and another 
of salt in his feeding place, to lick them when he likes. 

{The following recipe was originally published in the New England Farmer, sanc- 
tioned with the name of Lovett Peters, of Westborough, Massachusetts, who pro- 
nounces it an infallible cure for diarrhoRa, or scouring in calves: — " I call it," says 
he, "infallible, because in thirty years' use of it I have never known it to fail in 
effecting a cure, by once giving it, except in one instance, and then a second dose 
proved effectual. Put into a suitable bottle about half a pint of good cider, (not 
sweet nor bottled cider). Then open a vein in the neck of the calf, and let into the 
bottle about the same quantity of blood. Shake it well together quickly, and before 
it has time to coagulate, put it down the calf's throat, which is easily done with the 
bottle. — S.] 

COSTIVENESS. 

This occasionally attacks young calves a few days after they are 
born. It is then caused by coagulation of milk in the fourth stomach, 
which is completely distended by the solid curd, and the passage 
through it obstructed. There is not often any remedy for this. The 
most likely method to succeed is to pour in plenty of warm water in 
which Epsom salts have been dissolved, by means of the stomach- 
pump so often recommended. The first dose may consist of two 
ounces of the salts dissolved in two or three quarts of water; after 
which ounce-doses may be given every six hours, likewise in the 
same quantity of water, until the bowels are opened. 

The costiveness of calves is generally produced by bad manage- 
ment. Either the calf is suffered to suck too plentifully, or put to a 
cow whose milk is too old, or fed with new milk from the dairy pro- 
miscuously. All these things are injurious, and thousands of young 
animals have been destroyed by them. 

When costiveness occurs in calves of two or three months old, it 
is usually when they have been too suddenly changed from fluid food, 
as gruel or porridge, to that of a dryer and more stimulating kind, 



136 DISEASES OP YOUNG CALVES. 

and consisting principally of hay. This is a dangerous complaint ; 
for there is not only obstruction usually in the manyplies, or third 
stomach, which is employed in rubbing down the hard fibrous food, 
and now becomes overloaded and clogged, but the paunch itself is 
generally filled with undigested food, and rumination has ceased. 

Here again everything depends on diluting the hardened mass, and 
opening the bowels. The first dose of medicine should consist of a 
quarter of a pound of Epsom salts, dissolved in a gallon of warm 
water. It will not be forgotten that by introducing the pipe a little 
way, or far down the gullet, the medicine may be thrown at once into 
the third and fourth stomachs, or into the first. If it is introduced 
only a little way, and the pump worked gently, the fluid will pass 
on through the canal at the base of the gullet, which was described 
in the early part of the work, and enter the third stomach. Flowing 
through this in considerable quantities, it will perhaps dissolve, and 
wash out the hardened mass contained between the leaves of the 
manyplies, while the salts will open the bowels, and by emptying 
them solicit the food forward from the gorged stomachs. 

If, after the bowels have been well opened, rumination should not 
return, it will be prudent to have recourse again to the stomach- 
pump, the tube of which should now be pushed farther down the 
gullet until it enters the paunch. Plenty of warm water being now 
pumped in, and with some force, it will stir up the contents of the 
paunch, and cause them to be disgorged into the canal leading to the 
true stomach ; or vomiting will be excited, and the greater part of it 
thus brought away. The stomach will probably act upon the little 
that remains, rumination will again be established, and the animal 
will speedily recover. 

There are few things so dangerous to young cattle as being thus 
sapped or costive. It is the foundation of fever, and of many a 
serious complaint. As soon as the dung is observed to be hard, a 
mild dose of physic should be given to every calf. A little attention 
to this would keep the breeding stock in good order ; and their pre- 
servation, and health, and rapid thriving would abundantly repay the 
little additional trouble and expense. Farmers in general, however, 
are shamefully careless here ; and no notice is taken of half the dis- 
eases under which their stock of every kind plainly and evidently 
labour, until they are past all cure. It is also matter of general ob- 
servation, that a calf that has a considerable tendency to costiveness 
is slow in getting fat and preparing for the market. 

All cattle are subject to occasional costiveness, and which should 
be removed as early as in the calf, as being the frequent root of much 
evil. It is either one of the symptoms of the beast labouring under 
inflammatory fever, or it lays the foundation for inflammatory fever. 
A purge of Epsom salts, or even of common salt, if the other should 
not be at hand, will not cost much, and would save the life of many 
a beast : let not the farmer, however, follow up the farrier's practice 
of giving a cordial drink two or three days after the physic, under 



THE HOOSE IN CALVES. 137 

the notion of removing flatulence, and promoting digestion, and invi- 
gorating the system. The fever, of which this costiveness is either 
the forerunner or the cause, would only be hastened and aggravated 
by this absurd system of stimulation. 

THE HOOSE IN CALVES. 

This disease in the adult animal has already been considered : in 
the calf it assumes different and more aggravated symptoms, and is 
more speedily connected with consumption and death. The moment 
a calf is observed to cough violently, he should be removed from the 
pasture, and put under tolerably warm shelter and taken care of. A 
bleeding and a dose of physic, and a fever powder, will then usually 
restore the animal to perfect health. 

At times the hoose is epidemic among cattle, and hundreds of them 
die. Proper treatment at first will, in the majority of cases, remedy 
the evil ; but should the animal get rapidly worse, and his cough be 
peculiarly violent and distressing, care should be taken to examine 
the first that happens to die, on the farmer's own estate, or that of 
his neighbour, and if the windpipe and the air-tubes below should be 
found filled with the worms which have already been described, re- 
course should be had to the spirit of turpentine, which will often 
succeed in destroying them. The principle on which the turpentine 
acts has been already explained. The following will be found a good 
formula for its administration to calves from six to twelve months 
old:— 

RECIPE (No. 64). 
Take oil of turpentine, one ounce; linseed oil, three or four ounces; ginger, pow- 
iered, one drachm. Mix. To be repeated at the interval of a week, as often as may 
be required. 

A cure has also been obtained by the exhibition of half a pint of 
lime-water every morning and a table-spoonful of salt the same after- 
noon. The origin of these worms has not yet been satisfactorily 
developed ; but it is supposed that the eggs are taken w T ith the water 
absorbed by the blood-vessels, and thus enter the windpipe, where 
they are hatched : but one thing is certain, that in nine cases out of 
ten the farmer may attribute all the losses he sustains to neglect of 
the calf, or premature exposure of him to cold and wet. 

CANKER IN THE MOUTH. 

The teeth of the young calf follow each other in rapid succession, 
and, as is the case with the human infant, the cutting of the teeth is 
attended by soreness of the mouth, and disinclination to eat. Numer- 
ous pimples also appear about the gums and membrane of the mouth, 
and these often run together, considerable ulceration follows, and the 
animal pines away through lack of nutriment. The gums and tongue 
are sometimes considerably swollen, and no small degree of fever is 
excited. The first business is to evacuate the bowels. Epsom salts 
will here also constitute the preferable medicine, given in doses of 
one or two ounces, and repeated daily until the proper effect is pro- 
12* 



138 POSTSCRIPT TO 

duced. As a local application, equal parts of tincture of myrrh and 
water may be advantageously applied to the mouth, or a solution of 
common alum in water in the proportion of half an ounce of alum to 
a pint of water. Should any considerable degree of fever accompany 
the soreness of the mouth, the fever drink already recommended may 
be given in half doses, with a scruple of magnesia added to each. 



POSTSCRIPT 



THE DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

One of the most fatal and extraordinary diseases with which any country has been 
Infected is that which, in Ohio and other western States, is called the Tremeles. 
Professor Drake, of the Transylvania University, and more recently Doctor J. J. 
Mcllhenny, of Springfield, Ohio, have both published their views on the subject ; and 
if they have not succeeded in prescribing any effectual remedy, it has not been for 
want of diligence of research and an obvious benevolence of motive which do them 
honour. As resulting from the use of the meat and milk of cattle infected with the 
trembles, is believed to occur one of the most terrible diseases to which the human 
family is liable, called the Milk Sickness, alias Sick Stomach, " there is. says Dr. 
Mcllhenny, "no disorder that fills the minds of persons residing within the infected 
districts with more horror, with more dread, with more foreboding of death, than 
does this disease." He considers the trembles in cattle to be clearly of vegetable 
origin, that is produced by animals eating the vegetable, and through them commu- 
nicated to the person or animal that partakes either of the meat, butter, or milk. 

Dr. T. B. Johnston, whose residence is in Southern Indiana, says that he never 
knew the trembles to prevail where there was not a free growth of weeds. " I well 
know that it is circumscribed, that a small section will produce the disease, then an 
exemption for some distance, when it will again recur. So of some farms; a portion 
will produce it, and the other will not. In fact, there is not a county from Floyd to 
the mouth of the Wabash, and as far north as White River, that is exempt from 
milk sickness; and it often occurs in both Southern Illinois and Kentucky. I have 
never heard of it above the 41st degree of north latitude, and it seldom reaches that 
line. As to the cause of the trembles, Dr. Mcllhenny, who has devoted much and 
anxious attention to the subject, says that he differs with Professor Drake as to the 
true cause — " Our difference, however, consists merely in a name, in distinguishing 
between a different species of plants of the same genus. He appears to be pretty 
well satisfied that the Rhus Toxicodendron (Poison Oak) or Rhus Radicans (Poison 
Vine) is the plant that produces the disease. 

My firm convictions are that the disease termed sick stomach is produced by the 
Rhus Toxicodendron, or Poison Oak, and that it is a separate and distinct species from 
the Radicans, or Poison Fine. It is further stated that the Poison Oak never vines — 
that it is never seen to take hold on trees, and that it grows from one to three feet 
in height ; that it has three, while the Radicans or Poison Vine has five leaves. 



THE DISEASES OP CATTLE. 139 

Dr. Mcllhenny thus sums up the reasons which lead him to consider the trembles 
as the effect of the Rhus Toxicodendron, or poison oak. 

" To sum up our conclusions on the cause of milk-sickness, we must be allowed to 
express our decided conviction, that it is produced by the Rhus Toxicodendron, or 
Poison Oak, for the following reasons :— 

1. Sick stomach does not prevail where there is no rhus — that in every section of 
country where none of the small rhus can be found, there can be none of the trembles 
found. 

2. It does universally exist whore there is an abundance of the smaller rhus. 

3. It never occurs until vegetation comes forth in the spring. 

4. Where it prevails most, the rhus is in its greatest luxuriance. 

5. After the heavy frosts kill all vegetation, the disease subsides. 

6. It is a well-known fact, that cultivation kills the Poison Oak — entirely de- 
Btroys it. 

7. It is equally as well established, that animals kept within a well-cultivated 
enclosure, are perfectly exempt from the disease. 

8. Almost every observant and intelligent individual who has been raised amidst 
the disease, has come to the conclusion, that the Rhus Toxicodendron is the cause of 
milk sickness. 

9. That it is distinguished from the Radicans, or common Poison Vine, by its dif- 
ferent number of leaves— also, by its acridness of character. 

10. A certain locality produces the disease, find it where you may, such as flat, 
heavy timber-land, interspersed with hazle and other underbrush, which is quite 
productive of the rhus. 

11. The seldom appearance of the disease on hilly, dry ground, is in consequence 
of such a place not being congenial to the production of that plant, so that what 
little does exist, is not so apt to produce the disease, in consequence of its unhealthy 
growth." 

The pathology of the disease is thus described by the same author : — 

" As to the pathology of this disease I know but little. I have treated quite a 
number of cases, but have never been favoured with a post mortem examination; 
consequently, I have had no other means of ascertaining morbid appearances than 
that of judging from symptoms: the mere external developments of the internal con- 
dition. We are told, however, that in animals which die of this disease, the many 
folds, or mesentery, is in a hard, dry condition, and, in many cases, perfectly black ; 
and that all the folds which lie enclosed in the bowels, and are in close contact with 
them, are frequently in such a brittle condition, that they can be readily broken, 
particularly those that envelope the stomach; and that traces of inflammatory ac- 
tion can be frequently discovered the whole length of the intestinal canal; but the 
greater amount, those that have left the deepest marks, are to be seen in and around 
the stomach and duodenum. 

" If this should be a true condition of the morbid appearances of the animal, which 
we are satisfied it is, we may reasonably expect that the same results are to be seen 
in the human subject. So far, however, as my opinion goes, I believe that the poison, 
when taken into the stomach, produces inflammation of that organ, particularly 
confined to the mucous coat; that inflammation continuing, thickens the mucous 
lining to such an extent, that it closes, in proportion to its severity, the passage 
from the stomach to the bowels. I am satisfied that there is inflammation down to 
th.? upper part of the bowels, but, generally, in a slight degree. I do not believe that 
there is any general inflammatory condition of any of the chylopoetic viscera, but 
that the entire force of the disease is spent upon the stomach, and, perhaps, duo- 
denum. 

" From what observation I have been able to make upon the subject, I am inclined 
to the opinion that the lower portions of the bowels remain, measurably, if not en- 
tirely, exempt from inflammation ; that it is entirely a disease of the stomach ; that 
in proportion to the severity with which that organ is attacked, in that proportion 
will thechylopretic viscera become deranged. 

" Another proof that the disease is inflammatory, is the constipated condition of 
the bowels. There could not be such a dry and hardened condition of the fecal matter 
produced by any other derangement, excepting that of inflammatory action. 

" I have been led to make these remarks, in consequence of an opinion that is 
prevalent with some of our practitioners, that the disease is nervous; that the great 
gastric irritability is, or might be, attributed to nervous excitement. This, to me, 
appears impossible; for, if the nerves of the stomach were in such a morbid condi- 



140 POSTSCRIPT TO 

tion, acting under such a powerful excitement as to produce such distressing symp- 
toms, would not the brain become sympathetically affected? Would we not have an 
apparent case of Phrenitis? Whereas, the mind, generally, remains quiet. We 
sometimes see mental depression, but rarely ever mental aberration." 

Professor Drake enumerates the animals liable to this disease, as the cow, horse, 
sheep, hog, dog, goat (doubtful), and the mule and buzzard. " The characteristic 
symptoms," says he, " are so much alike in all, that an account of them in one of 
the species will serve for the whole," and he selects the cow. 

•• In the earliest stages of this malady, in the cow, it may not display its exist- 
ence, if the attack be not violent and the animal left to itself; for in the beginning, 
as in all stages of the disorder, the appetite seems to be unimpaired, and the thirst 
not increased. Even this early stage, not less than the more advanced, appears, 
however, to be attended with constipation of the bowels. The animal at length 
begins to mope and droop, to walk slower than its fellows, and to falter in its gait. 
If, under these circumstances, it should be driven, and attempt to run, the debility 
and stiffness of its muscles are immediately apparent. It fails rapidly, trembles, 
pants, and sometimes seems blind, as it runs against obstacles, but this may arise 
from vertigo ; at length it falls down, lies on its side quivering, and is not, perhaps, 
able to rise for several hours, sometimes never. Now and then, the quivering amounts 
to a slight convulsion. When the disease is not violent, the animal, after a longer 
or shorter period, is again on its feet; but its capacity for muscular effort is greatly 
impaired, and, if hurried in the slightest degree, it is seized with trembling and stiff- 
ness, and may even fall again. Of the state of the circulation, when it lies seriously 
ill, but little is known, as the pulse has not been inspected. One observer perceived 
that the nose of a heifer was hot, but others have found that part and the skin 
generally cool. Perhaps their observations were made in different stages of the dis- 
ease. While lying unable to walk, the animal will still eat freely, and also take 
drink, but does not seem to have excessive thirst. Its costiveness continues to the 
last when the malady goes on to a fatal termination. Of the symptoms which pre- 
cede dissolution we could not obtain a satisfactory account. Our witnesses generally 
declared, however, that the abdomen does not swell in any stage of the disease. 
When it assumes a chronic form, the animal is liable, for weeks and even months, 
to muscular infirmity under exercise, looks gaunt and ihin, its hair assumes a dead 
appearance, and sometimes falls off in considerable quantities, especially from the 
neck." 

Finally, as to the remedy for this dreadful disorder in cattle, we quote Professor 
Drake— Dr. Mcllhenny's observations applying to the treatment of milk-sickness in 
the human subject — and then append the article on mad-itch and black-foot from 
Governor Vance with the following introductory remarks :— 

" Treatment of the Trembles.— We met with no medical gentleman who had sub- 
jected animals labouring under this disease to a systematic, or even varied empirical 
treatment. All the people of the district have one and the same indication to fulfil, 
that of opening the bowels. When this can be effected, the animal, they say, scarcely 
ever dies— when it cannot, death occurs. For the fulfilment of this indication, epsom 
salts has been administered in very large quantities, even to pounds, but without 
effect. Drenches of lard and various mixtures have also been given, with no satis- 
factory result. Judge Harold, near South Charleston, has exhibited calomel followed 
by lard— no essential benefit. Dr. Toland has administered the oil of turpentine, in 
dos^s of eight, twelve, and sixteen ounces, without advantage. An opinion is pre- 
valent that drenching animals injures them by causing them to struggle. On the 
whole, we found among the people of the district a total want of confidence in all 
kinds of cathartic medicines ; and an exclusive reliance on Indian corn. Some pre- 
ferred old corn, some new, and others that which had been frost-bitten. This is fed 
to all those species of animals that are accustomed to eat it, and is said never to be 
refused. The more the animal will eat, the greater is the hope of the owner. It is 
said to produce purging, when every other means have failed, and then, it is affirm- 
ed, recovery is almost certain. On these points we found but one opinion in the 
district. Several of its physicians, after trying other things, had, with the people, 
settled down on this. 

" We found blood-letting not in favour. Dr. Toland supposes it has, generally, been 
employed at too late a period. Many non-professional persons spoke of having re- 
sorted to it without advantage, and some thought it had done harm. 



THE DISEASES OF CATTLE. 141 

"Throughout the disease, rest is considered a sine qua non to the favourable effect 
of any measure, and of itself, in mild cases, sufficient ; that is, if they he not aggra- 
vated by exercise, the disease will wear itself out, or spontaneously subside." 

Other diseases of cattle which prevail in Ohio and the West have been thus de- 
scribed to us by Governor Vance of Ohio, a gentleman alike distinguished for the 
study and the practice of what is useful and amiable, rather than the ornamental — 
hence his great and deserved popularity. 

From Governor Vance, of Ohio. 

(Mad Itch.— The effect of cattle following hogs that are fed on green corn, cut up 
and thrown to them when in the roasting-ear state, is very fatal. The hogs will 
chew the corn-stalk, and extract all the sap, and then throw it out. These fibres 
thus thrown out, with all the sap extracted, will be eaten voraciously by the cattle. 
It contains no nutriment to give fermentation to enable the animal to ruminate; 
and it thus lays dormant and inactive in the many folds, or stomach ; becomes per- 
fectly compact and undigestahle ; creates fever, and in the end destroys the animal. 

Cattle destroyed by eating these fibres of the corn-stalk will first show the symp- 
tom by a wild stare of the eye, and in jts first stages will frequently become cross, 
and even attack their keepers. They will then begin to rub the nose and head against 
the fence until the skin and flesh are torn and lacerated in a most frightful manner, 
and in the end die in great misery. I have lost many fine eattle in this way, and 
have never been able to save one thus afflicted. The entire symptoms are similar to 
what is called the mad itch, which I have no doubt is created by the same cause, by 
taking into many folds indigestible matter incapable of fermentation and rumina- 
tion. 

Black Foot.— There is a late complaint amongst our cattle in the west, called the 
black foot. It is fatal to stock, destroying them in a few hours. The attack is gene- 
rally in the fore leg or foot; the animal becomes stiff, and moves with great difficulty, 
the flesh turning black from the foot to the body, causing mortification and imme- 
diate death. This disease has never been in my stock, and I only speak of it from 
information ; but it is said to be very fatal, and as far as I have heard we are with- 
out a cure or preventive to arrest its progress.] 



ESSAY 

ON THE 
ADVANTAGES TO BE DERIVED FROM A MORE EXTENDED 

USE OF OXEN 

IN THE 

HUSBANDRY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

BY J. S. SKINNER, Esq. 



So de°p is the conviction of the great saving which would be ac- 
complished by individuals, adding immensely, in the aggregate, to 
our national wealth, by a more extended use of oxen in lieu of horses 
in the general labours of husbandry, that the occasion is here em- 
braced to present the views by which that conviction has been 
established, and the editor feels persuaded that he might venture to 
introduce these views, on the score of their intrinsic importance, 
even though the subject to which they relate were not so naturally 
associated, as it seems to be, with a work on the diseases <f cattle. 

That " a farming district may be judged of by its worhing oxen, 
as safely as by its barns or its corn-fields," has been laid down as 
an axiom by a Committee of Farmers, — working men in the true 
sense of the word, — of Massachusetts, at an exhibition where no 
premium was offered for horses, expressly on the ground that " it was 
believed that the interest of the farmer is promoted by substituting 
the ox for the horse, for most purposes, as he is fed with less expense, 
is more patient of labour, and is more valuable when his service is 
ended." This declaration in favour of the ox for " most purposes" is 
at once explicit and broad, and might seem to settle the question; 
but there are considerations arising out of difference of soil and cli- 
mate, which obviously demand a comparison of circumstances to see 
how far that system admits of general application, which is here 
proclaimed on the best authority to be expedient throughout New 
England : and this brings us at once to the most formidable objections 
to the use of oxen — their alleged incapacity to withstand, when labour- 
ing, the heat of more southern latitudes, and their slowness of motion. 

As to New England, in addition to the evidence already quoted, 
we may give here the answer of the venerable Josiah Quincy, now 
President of the time-honoured Harvard University, to a letter once 

(143) 



144 ESSAY ON THE 

addressed to him by the writer of this — " Oxen," said he, " are used 
almost wholly for plough and team work in this quarter of the coun- 
try. A single horse is usually kept by our farmers to go to mill and 
to church, and for the convenience of the family. This is so universal 
as to be almost without exception among mere farmers. They cer- 
tainly answer all purposes except perhaps speed, and in this, on a 
long journey, they are considered as quite equal to horses. Our far- 
mers are so satisfied with their utility and economy, that no argument 
would induce them to change." 

Hence it is seen that no reasoning is necessary to recommend the 
ox to general use in all that portion of America, and this evidence 
has been adduced to prevail upon southern readers to reflect on the 
subject, by showing, what many of them do not know, that already, 
in many of our States where the folks are nice judges of economical 
and labour-saving machines, animate and inanimate, oxen are actually 
substituted, and horses altogether banished for all farming purposes, 
and that their speed on long journeys is quite equal to that of horses. 
On the point of speed we shall speak again and conclusively, when we 
shall have dismissed the one in hand, to wit: — capacity to bear heal! 

It was for a long time believed that the ox was a native of Europe, 
and that in the Aurock, running wild in the forests of Poland, his 
original type was to be found; but Cuvier's researches in compara- 
tive anatomy have established the belief that the cow is a native of 
Southern Asia, and thence may be deduced an argument that there 
is nothing in the natural constitution of the ox which forbids his 
manifesting his entire capabilities in southern climates. If there 
were, how is it that in South America he reaches his highest deve- 
lopements of size and power 1 As one of the Commissioners to South 
America, Chancellor Bland, in a report which Mr. Adams pronounced 
to be one of the ablest papers ever presented to the government, thus 
describes the ox-carts employed, and the wonderful powers of endu- 
rance of this patient animal in crossing the pampas of Buenos Ayres. 
It speaks conclusively to both the objections — want of speed and of 
power to bear heat. 

" The Tucuman and Mendoza carts, at a little distance, looked 
like thatched cabins slowly moving over the plain — the. whole ma- 
chine is destitute of a nail or a bit of iron ; its great coarse wheels 
are not less than eight feet in diameter ; six oxen, in general noble 
strong animals, move it ; the two front pair have a great length of 
cord by which they draw; and the load of the cart, which, on an 
average, is not less than four thousand weight, is pretty nearly 
balanced on the axletree ; the body of the cart is either covered with 
raw hide or thatch, made of reeds or straw; and with a collection of 
brushwood, as fuel, tied on the top, and brought from the westward 
of the pampas, these carts are seen crossing the plains in caravans 
of from thirty to forty together. On the journey the oxen are unyoked 
occasionally through the day and night, and permitted to seek their 
food round about. Thus without any other provision than what is 



USE OF OXEN. 145 

necessary for himself, the carrier pursues his way over a waste of 
thirty days or six weeks passage. From Buenos Ayres to Mendoza 
the distance is nine hundred miles, and the journey is performed in 
about thirty days." 

In some parts of England they formerly had ox races, and it is said 
that some years ago an ox ran four miles, over the course at Lewis, 
for one hundred guineas, at the rate of fifteen miles the hour. 

We are told that in India bullocks are used for the saddle and 
coach, and that there travelling oxen are curried, clothed and attend- 
ed, with as much solicitude, and much greater kindness, than we 
bestow on our best horses. The Indian cattle are extremely docile, 
and quick of perception, patient and kind ; like the horses, their chief 
travelling pace is the trot; and they are reported by those who have 
ridden them often, to perform journeys of sixty successive days at 
the rate of thirty to forty-five miles a day. 

To come back to our own country on this point, it is worthy of 
being here added that in an address delivered before the Barnwell 
Agricultural Society of South Carolina in 1821, Dr. J. S. Bellinger 
remarked, that " in the lower districts of our State they appear fully 
to appreciate the value of their labour in heavy drafts. With those 
of us who have attempted the use of them, oxen appear fully calcu- 
lated to answer the many purposes upon our farms to which we almost 
exclusively apply the more expensive, though nobler animal, the 
horse." 

Time was when the horse was not considered "the nobler" of the 
two ; else why the many cautions in Scripture in favour and in honour 
of the ox — thou shalt not muzzle the ox — thy ox shall not labour 
on the Sabbath day — thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife nor 
his maid — nor his ox! 

The late James M. Garnett, of Virginia, honoured be his name by 
all friends of American agriculture, stated in one of his addresses — 
" A gentleman of my acquaintance had a mixed team of horses, 
mules, and oxen — in each season his horses failed first, the mules 
next, although both were fed upon grain and hay ; and the oxen, fed 
exclusively on hay and grass, finished the crop. But to come down to 
the present time and nearer home, in Maryland, at the hottest season 
of the year and the most busy one with the planter, the same teams 
of oxen are worked, during the whole day, hauling very heavy loads 
of green tobacco for weeks together, and do well without any food 
but the grass of common pasturage on being turned out at night — 
whereas horses, working steadily in the same way, on the national 
road in wagons, consume twenty-five pounds of hay, and grain at the 
rate of four bushels of oats per day for the five horses, or four-fifths 
of a bushel for each horse — or, what is considered equivalent, four 
bushels of corn in the ear — making of oats at the rate of two hundred 
and thirty-two bushels for each horse for a year ! 

As to horse power on the national road, the following is the answer 
from Major Thruston:— 
13 



146 ESSAY ON THE 

" Cumberland, Maryland, Nov. 17, 1843 :— The general result, (for 
they differ widely in their opinions), obtained by conversation with 
the oldest teamsters on the national road, is this — A five-hors? team 
with a load of sixty cwt. (the average) will make daily, throughout 
the year, fifteen miles per day ; the weight of the empty wagon be- 
tween one and a half and two tons. At this work horses will not 
last as long as at farm-work by one-third, certainly. They average one 
set of shoes monthly, each horse; cost of shoes, one dollar each per 
month ; feed, four bushels of oats per day, or four-fifths of a bushel per 
day to each horse ; the same of corn in the ear ; hay, twenty-five 
pounds. On this subject they are uniform in their statements. This 
amount of food is enough, and not more than will be consumed." 

But the comparison in point of expense will be extended in an- 
other part of this essay. 

In answer to the argument against oxen now under consideration, 
and the one which has had most influence in restricting the use of 
them, we now offer the views urged by the illustrious Madison, 
whose pen simplified and enlightened every subject it touched, as 
could not but happen with a mind so pure and so bright. 

The objections generally made to the ox are — 1st, that he is less 
tractable than the horse; 2d, that he does not bear heat as well ; 3d, 
that he does not answer for the single plough used in our corn-fields ; 
4th, that he is slow r er in his movements ; 5th, that he is less fit for 
carrying the produce of the farm to market. 

The first objection is certainly founded in mistake. Of the two 
animals the ox is the most docile. In all countries where the ox is 
the ordinary draught animal, his docility is proverbial. His intracta- 
bility, where it exists, has arisen from an occasional use of him only, 
with long and irregular intervals ; during which, the habit of disci- 
pline being broken, a new one is to be formed. 

The second objection has as little foundation. The constitution of 
the ox accommodates itself as readily as that of the horse to different 
climates. Not only in ancient Greece and Italy, but throughout Asia, 
as presented to us in ancient history, the ox and the plough are asso- 
ciated. At this day, in the warm parts of India and China, the ox, 
not the horse, is in the draught service. In every part of India the 
ox always appears, even in the train of her armies. And in the hottest 
parts of the West Indies, the ox is employed in hauling the weighty 
produce to the seaports. The mistake here, as in the former case, 
has arisen from the effect of an occasional employment only, with no 
other than green food. The fermentation of this in the animal, heated 
by the weather, and fretted by the discipline, will readily account for 
his sinking under his exertions ; when green food even, much less 
dry, with a sober habit of labour, would have no such tendency. 

The third objection also is not a solid one. The ox can, by a pro- 
per harness, be used singly, as well as the horse, between the rows 
of Indian corn ; and equally so used for other purposes. Experience 
may be safely appealed to on this point. 



USE OP OXEN. 147 

In the fourth place, it is alleged that he is slower in his move- 
ments. This is true, but in a less degree than is often taken for 
granted. Oxen that are well chosen for their form are not worked 
after the age of about eight years, (the age at which they are best 
fitted for beef), are not worked too many together, and are suitably 
matched, may be kept at nearly as quick a step as that of the horse, 
might I not say quicker than that of many of the horses we see at 
work, who, on account of their age, or the leanness occasioned by 
the costliness of the food they require, lose the advantage where they 
might have once had it ? 

The last objection has most weight. The ox is not as well adapted 
as the horse to the road service, especially for long trips. In common 
roads, which are often soft, and sometimes suddenly become so, the 
form of his foot and the shortness of his leg are disadvantages ; and, 
on roads frozen or turnpiked, the roughness of the surface in the 
former case, and its hardness in both cases, are inconvenient to his 
cloven foot. But where the distance to market is not great, where 
the varying state of the roads and of the weather can be consulted, 
and where the road service is less in proportion to the farm service, 
the objection is almost deprived of its weight. 

In cases where it most applies, its weight is diminished by the 
consideration that a much greater proportion of service on the farm 
may be done by oxen than is now commonly done ; and that the ex- 
pense of shoeing them is little different from that of keeping horses 
shod. It is observable that when oxen are worked on the farm over 
rough frozen ground, they suffer so much from the want of shoes, 
however well fed they may be, that it is a proper subject for calcula- 
tion whether true economy does not require for them that accommo- 
dation, even on the farm, as well as for the horses. 

A more important calculation is, whether, in many situations, the 
general saving by substituting the ox for the horse would not balance 
the expense of hiring a conveyance of the produce to market. In the 
same scale with the hire is to be put the value of the grass and hay 
consumed by the oxen; and in the other scale, the value of the corn, 
amounting to one-half of the crop, and of the grass and hay consumed 
by the horses. Where the market is not distant, the value of the 
corn saved would certainly pay for the carriage of the market portion 
of the crop, and balance, moreover, any difference between the value 
of the grass and hay consumed by oxen, and the value of the oxen 
when slaughtered for beef. In all these calculations, it is doubtless 
proper not to lose sight of the rule, that farmers ought to avoid pay- 
ing others for doing what they can do for themselves. But the rule 
has its exceptions, and the error, if it be committed, will not lie in 
departing from the rule, but in not selecting aright the cases which 
call for the departure. It may be remarked that the rule ought to be 
more or less general, as there may or may not be at hand a market 
by which every produce of labour is convertible into money. In the 



148 ESSAY ON THE 

old countries, this is much more the case than in new ; and in new, 
much more the case near towns than at a distance from them. In 
this, as in most other parts of our country, a change of circumstances 
is taking place which renders everything raised on a farm more con- 
vertible into money than formerly ; and as the change proceeds, it 
will be more and more a point for consideration how far the labour in 
doing what might be bought, could earn more in another way than 
the amount of the purchase. Still, it will always be prudent, for 
reasons which every experienced farmer will understand, to lean to 
the side of doing rather than hiring or buying what may be wanted." 

The next most serious charge against the ox is constitutional slow- 
ness of motion, which, as many suppose, no course of education can 
overcome, but which may be set off in comparison with the greater 
speed of the horse, as ^Esop illustrated the difference in the long run 
between the pace of the ' tortoise and the hare? — "The greater haste 
the less speed," is a proverb suited to this case as to that. It has 
already been seen' that ox-teams travel over the ever-verdant pampas 
of Buenos Ayres, at the rate of thirty miles a day, for a month toge- 
ther. Twenty years ago, the writer of this held correspondence with 
Commodore Jacob Jones, himself a practical farmer, and an habitually 
close and judicious observer, and then commanding our squadron in 
the Mediterranean, on the subject of Andalusian horses, cattle, and 
other animals, with a view to the importation, under authority from 
the Albemarle Agricultural Society, of such as might be deemed 
essentially superior to animals of the same species in America; and 
Ave now quote from his letter as applicable to the questions both of 
speed and susceptibility to heat : — " The cattle that I have seen in 
Spain appear to be nothing superior to ours, nor have I seen anywhere 
on the coasts of the Mediterranean any that appear better than those 
in America, except a race of white cattle at Naples used for the 
draft. I was informed by a gentleman who, in supplying the govern- 
ment with timber, had used thirty yoke of them for two years, that 
during that time they had constantly travelled from twenty to twenty- 
five miles a day. They are generally fifteen hands high ; their bodies 
long, thin, and deep ; legs long; small light head ; sharp muzzle re- 
sembling deer; colour entirely white, except black nose, ears, and 
tuft of the tail. They are most frequently worked in the thills of the 
cart, and are as spirited and walk as quick as a horse, and appeared 
not to suffer from heat more than a horse." 

To show, however, that we are not dependent on any foreign stock, 
it may be stated .that the small, pale-red old field ox about Salisbury 
in Maryland will travel twenty-five miles in a day, with heavy loads 
of lumber going, and returning empty, over the sandy roads of that 
region; while it may be affirmed, after particular inquiry, that the 
distance made by the heavy-bodied, grain-devouring, Conestoga 
horses on the national road between Cumberland and Wheeling 
averages not over sixteen miles, six horses with loads of from six to 
eight thousand pounds. 



USE OP OXEN 



149 



To the letter from Major Thruston already given maybe added the 
following, which goes somewhat more into detail, from Mr. Agnew, 
Postmaster at Wheeling, Virginia: — 

Wheeling, Nov. 23 d, 1843. 
J. S. Skinner, Esq. 

Dear Sir, — Your favour requesting me to obtain information re- 
specting horses, wagons, &c, was received in due course of mail; 
but as I was just leaving for Pittsburgh, I was compelled to defer 
answering until my return. I conferred with several wagoners, and 
give below the result of their united opinions. 

Respectfully, your ob't. servant, 

David Agnew. 

Sixteen miles. 

Six horses, average cost of each sixty-five 

dollars. 
Seven years. 

Five years. Many are used at three and 

four years. 
Fifteen dcilars. 

Oats is the only feed in use. Four and a 
half bushels is allowed per day for 
six horses. 

Cut straw is not used. Hay is in regular 
use. 

The weight of loads varies from sixty to 
eighty hundred pounds ; seventy hun- 
dred pounds is the usual weight ; 
wagon's weight about 3,500 lbs. 

A wagon of the largest size used on the 
national road costs $250; harness 
per horse, 820; and will last sixyears. 

A wagon that will carry 3,000 lbs. costs 
$150 ; 4,000 lbs. $1(30 ; 5,000 lbs. $175 ; 
6,000 lbs. $200; 7,000 lbs. and up- 
wards, $250; and with ordinary care 
will last four years. 

In support of the adaptation of the ox to the road for heavy draft 
and long journeys, the last authority which it is deemed necessary to 
produce is one of unquestionable validity ; being no other than the 
testimony of the late Timothy Pickering. Being called on for his 
knowledge of the employment of ox-teams for the transportation of 
military stores during the revolution, when he acted as Quarter-Mas- 
ter-General under General Washington, the following is extracted 
from an interesting reply, in which other views are embraced, con- 
nected with other aspects of the subject, to be presently considered : 

" When in August, 1781, disappointed in the expected co-operation 
of a French fleet against the enemy in New York, the commander- 
in-chief decided on the expedition against the British army under 
Lord Cornwallis in Virginia, I received his orders to provide for 
13* 



1. The usual average daily travel of load- 

ed wagons ? 

2. How many horses, and their average 

cost or value ? 

3. The average time that horses so em- 

ployed will last ? 

4. At what age is it considered safe to 

put them to such labour? 

5. What the average cost of shoeing each 

horse per annum ? 

6. What is the usual feed of kind and 

quantity, and lo how many oats is it 
equivalent where oats are not used ? 

7. As to hay — is it in regular use on the 

road, or does cut straw, or what, take 
the place of it ? 

8. What is the usual weight of their load 

exclusive of their wagons, and what 
the weight of the wagons ? 

9. What is the first cost of wagon-har- 

ness per horse, and how long will a 
set of harness la=t ? 
What is the cost of a wagon in pro- 
portion to what it will carry — and 
about how long will a wagon last 
with ordinary care? 



10 



150 ESSAY ON THE 

moving the troops destined for that service. The ar-teams effectually 
performed the transportation of baggage and stores to the points where 
they were relieved by water conveyances. From the head of Elk in 
Maryland (sixteen miles eastward of the Susquehanna) to James* 
River in Virginia, near three hundred miles, the ox-teams (without 
loads) travelled expeditiously. The heavy artillery, shot, shells, &c, 
brought from the head of Elk by water, were landed on the shore of 
James' River, I think at or near Jamestown, whence they were trans- 
ported by the ox-teams to our camp before Yorktown, a distance, I 
believe, of about fourteen miles. In the performance of this service, 
those teams were of essential importance. 

"The late Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth of Connecticut (one of 
the most judicious and efficient men in business that I ever knew) 
was then the contractor for supplying the French army with provi- 
sions, teams, carriages, — in a w r ord, with everything necessary for it, 
in the quarter-master's and commissary's departments. I introduce 
his name, because he had provided a great number of ox-teams and 
wagons for the use of the French army during the same campaign, 
and these also travelled to Virginia. 

u I always understood that the great transportation of provision and 
stores from Massachusetts and Connecticut to the troops on Hudson's 
River, was almost wholly 'performed by ox-teams during the war. 

" Just at the close of the war, in the summer of 1783, I recollect 
being at the house of an agricultural gentleman of Princeton, in New . 
Jersey, where Congress was then sitting, and that Charles Thomson, 
the Secretary, was present. One of Arthur Young's Agricultural 
Tours in England lay on the table, and gave rise to a conversation 
on the use of oxen for the draft, particularly when geared with collars, 
hames, and traces, like horses; and Mr. Thomson related the follow- 
ing fact, now, for substance, perfectly in my recollection. Travelling 
in that part of Chester county in Pennsylvania which lay between 
Lancaster in that State and Newport on Christiana creek, Mr. Thorn- 
son fell in with a team of a novel character in that country, being 
composed of one pair of horses and one pair of oxen : and the latter 
ivere accoutred with harness like horses, only with the collars turned 
upside down. His curiosity being excited, he stopped and made some 
inquiries, • and received from the driver an account as follows : that 
he and a neighbour, each having a horse-team and wagon, had enter- 
ed into a contract to transport a quantity of flour (I think in a given 
time) to Newport; that in the midst of the work one or two of his 
horses failed, (fell sick or died), and he was not in circumstances 
conveniently to procure others ; but he had a pair of oxen, and he 
concluded to try w T hether they would supply the place of his horses; 
that he made the experiment and succeeded. He told Mr. Thomson 
that the oxen were more useful to him than horses ; for after some 
fall-rains, when the roads had become miry, he continued to carry 
Uis full complement of barrels of flour, while his neighbour's horse- 



USE OF OXEN 



151 



team, frequently getting stalled, (the familiar term in Pennsylvania 
•when a team gets set fast in a slough), compelled him to lessen his 
loads. But he added, that in returning from Newport with their 
wagons empty, his neighbour had the advantage in speed, although 
none in the actual performance of the contract." 

Thus it appears that as Rome is said to have been saved by the 
cackling of geese, the labour of oxen contributed on a critical occa- 
sion to the establishment of the American Republic. So much in 
answer may we not say in refutation, of the objection made to these 
animals in comparison with horses for heavy draft even on the road. 

OX-SHOES AND MACHINE FOR SHOEING OXEN. 

A great impediment to the use of oxen on our public roads in the 
winter season, is the liability of their feet to get sore for want of shoes 
— a great scandal on the intelligence and humanity of all southern 
farmers — for nothing can be easier or more simple than the manner 
of doing it in New England, where cattle driven on the roads in 
winter are as regularly shod as horses. In the hope of introducing a 
practice recommended equally by interest and humanity, a view is 
here given of the frame used for that purpose, and the smith who does 
not provide himself with one ought not to receive the patronage of 
any enlightened neighbourhood. 




The frame, as here exhibited, should be seven and a half feet long 
by three and a half wide, and five and a half high, consisting of four 
upright posts A A A A, and two horizontal bars on each side BBBB, 



152 



ESSAY ON THE 



joined by mortices. In the bars of one end, at the distance of ten 
inches from each other, are two perpendicular stanchions, the one 
fixed, the other moveable, and fastened by a key D, which are. let 
into the bars and form a head stall. The lower bars of the sides are 
eighteen inches from the ground. Immediately under the upper bar 
on the right side is a windlass E E, separated in the centre, working 
in the posts, and a block K let fall from the bar — with one end pass- 
ing over, and moving upon the opposite beam, is a broad leather strap 
six feet long, attached by an iron ring at the other end to the staples 
in the windlass. To give sufficient stability, the posts may either be 
let into the ground, or framed into sills, with end braces. 

The ox to be shod is led into the frame, and his head confined in 
the head stall. The strap is brought under the lower part of the belly 
and fastened to the windlass, by turning which his hind feet are 
raised six or eight inches from the ground. The foot is then lashed 
by a cord to the upper surface of the lower bar. In this situation 
the shoes are easily set. By moving the strap till it comes near the 
fore-legs the other part of the body is raised, and the shoes set on the 
fore-feet in like manner. 

The shoe is the arc of a circle, of the thickness of a common horse- 
shoe, from half to three-quarters of an inch wide, flattened to double 
that width at the hind part. The flat or hind part covers the frog, the 
tenderest part of the foot. The heel and toe are either corked or raised 
to make a level with the heads of the nails. Five or six nails are 
sufficient to secure it. Particular care must be taken by the smith in 
shoeing that the toes of the shoes do not extend quite to the extremity 
of the hoof, in w r hich they impinge on each other, and by the motion 
of the feet are easily thrust off. These directions are given by Benja- 
min Coleman, Esq. of Virginia, and are illustrated by the following 
sketch : 




USE OF OXEN. 153 

For the speed of an ox-team in the plough we might rely on the 
numerous certificates of committees for the last twenty years, in 
which our agricultural annals abound, from Boston in the north to 
Baltimore at least going south. These testify in innumerable cases 
to their ploughing five or six inches deep, an eighth of an acre tho- 
roughly well, at the rate of an acre in four hours. Making the most 
liberal allowance, however, for the favourable circumstances under 
which the work has been done at this rate, and it may still be safely 
assumed that a yoke of oxen, well trained, will turn over more than 
an acre of strong land in eight hours. 

All that we have contended for is more than confirmed by the fol- 
lowing testimony taken from a very interesting letter from Governor 
Hill, dated 7th December, 1843, on the use of oxen in the lumbering 
business in Maine. He says — " My own experience in this matter 
is quite recent, and of course limited. I have at this time cattle of 
my own raising, which, having been taught to step quick, and having 
worked in the same team with horses, will side by side travel as fast 
and plough as much in a day as the same number of horses. A pair 
of these oxen will turn over with a plough that carries twelve inches 
of the last year's corn or potatoe ground, or easy stubble land, from 
one and a half to two acres in a day, working eight hours, four in 
the forenoon and four in the afternoon. Oxen well fed with hay and 
a portion of Indian corn or meal, will in the heat of summer stand it 
to work daily from eight to ten hours." 

At the Exhibition of the Maryland Agricultural Society in 1823, 
{quorum pars fut), in the view of hundreds of spectators, an ox-team 
started in competition with five horse-teams, and was the second in 
completing an equal quantity of ground, and would have been the 
first if the horse-team had cleared out the middle furrow ; but sup- 
posing that when ready to start the horse has a little the advantage 
of foot, it is to be considered that for small jobs and short bouts his 
competitor can be more quickly hitched up, and the work despatched 
by the time the horse would be geared: — such cases as we have 
stated abound in all the accounts of the proceedings of agricultural 
societies. A writer in the Memoirs of the Massachusetts Agricultural 
Society, speaking to a community who neither could nor would be 
deceived on a matter so well understood by, and so deeply interesting 
to them, says — " The principal argument of the advocates for the 
cultivation by horses in Maryland seems to be the superior speed of 
the horse. Now this must proceed from an imperfect training of the 
cattle. With us our cattle will plough an acre of ground much belter, 
and in as short a time, as a pair of horses would do it, unless they 
can trot their horses in the plough; so they will get in a ton of hay 
in as short a time." Here we are well persuaded the sagacious 
writer hits the nail on the head, when he suggests that the objection 
on the score of speed must arise from an "imperfect training of the 
cattle" He must possess an imperfect knowledge of the difference 
between the habits dt the New England and the Southern ploughman 



154 ESSAY ON THE 

who is not prepared to admit that in nothing is that difference greater 
than in their treatment of all their cattle, and more especially their 
oxen. In this very difference, in fact, is to be found the solution of 
the question, and this brings us to the point for making the sugges- 
tions we propose on the breed, gearing, training, and general treat- 
ment of the ox. 

As to the breed, there can be no doubt that if regard were had alone 
to the working qualities of cattle, a skilful breeder might in a series 
of years, not very long, manufacture out of our own country cattle a 
race which would be as distinguished for quickness of motion and 
endurance as, by like care and attention and skill, the improved short 
horns have been made, and established for early maturity, symmetry 
and disposition to lay on flesh and fat on the most valuable parts. 
There is, however, in the two cases, this obvious difference in the 
system of breeding the horse and ox, which is a matter of necessity 
militating against the ox and detracting from him on the score of 
action, leaving it even a subject of surprise that he should be as quick 
as he is. While the horse, for instance, is bred and cultivated with 
a view to the possession and display of a single quality, either high- 
bred for light harness or the saddle, or cold-blooded, with weight to 
be thrown°into the collar, for the plough or heavy loads, for the cart 
or the wagon, true economy compels the husbandman as to his cattle, 
to keep in view and to combine, as far as he can, several objects in 
some degree incompatible with each other, and with the highest attain- 
able degree of excellence in any particular one of them. Few, for in- 
stance, could afford to breed cattle with exclusive reference to the pail, 
the yoke, or the shambles ! For either of these objects a different breed 
would be taken, while, under all circumstances, for all these purposes 
combined, we should pronounce in favour of the North Devon. It is 
from this stock that the famous New England oxen are descended. Be- 
ing of moderate size, and active and thrifty, they are adapted to a wider 
range of country ; and being in itself an unmixed distinct natural 
breed, if we may say so, it transmits and preserves its peculiar quali- 
ties with remarkable uniformity as to shape, size, colour, temper and 
action; and without demanding, in order to keep them up to the 
mark, that practised skill and extraordinary care in the selection of 
the breeding stock which has been for many years exercised in the 
formation of some other artificial breeds, choosing for that purpose 
individuals in every case most free from the defects, and possessing 
the greatest number of the points which it may be the object of the 
breeder to establish. 

In a correspondence between Dr. Mease of Philadelphia and some 
English stock-breeders of celebrity, one of them, Mr. Chandler, who 
had repeatedly gained prizes at Smith field for the cattle he had raised 
or exhibited, says in his answer to certain inquiries — " Not being an 
advocate for very large animals or for feeding to an excess, I have 
endeavoured from experience to make use of that description of 
animals which pay best for the food they eat, and* are the readiest sale 



USE OP OXEN. 155 

when fit for market. I have in consequence used the North Devom. 
They are the best breed that I am acquainted with for the united 
purposes of labour and feeding 1 , being very active, fast walkers, quick 
feeders, of a very good quality when slaughtered, and of a size now 
very generally preferred in our markets to the very large beasts, being 
from one hundred to one hundred and fifty stone of eight pounds. 
They are worked in yokes from four to six to a plough, and plough 
upwards of an acre per day ,• indeed they work harder than any other 
oxen in this country, for Devonshire is a very hilly country. The 
Devonshire cows are not of a large size, but very handsome forms, 
quick feeders, and give milk of a very rich quality. I should suppose 
that a yearling bull would not be procured in either Devon or Here- 
ford, from the first breeds, for less than one hundred guineas." 

It is stated in the communications to the Board of Agriculture in 
Pmgland, vol. iv., that ten North Devon cows of Mr. Congon pro- 
duced on an average five dozen pounds of butter per week in summer, 
and two dozen in the w T inter ; or, in other words, two hundred and 
sixty-eight pounds per cow. His thirty cows averaged an annual 
profit of £13, 14s. 8c?., or $60.52 per head. 

Another fact which weighs heavily in favour of the ox is, that his 
size is not diminished by labour; a consideration dwelt upon with 
emphasis by the late John Lowell of Massachusetts, eminent alike 
for his knowledge and for his public-spirited use of it. In a report 
in 1825, he remarks — "There was another very interesting fact dis- 
closed on this examination. There were three fine five year old steers 
of Joseph Eastbrooks, two of which had been worked hard from the 
age of three, and the third had never had a yoke around his neck. 
The judges, and better judges there could scarcely be than my asso- 
ciates, could perceive no sensible difference in the value of the worked 
and unworked cattle of the same age, owned by the same man ; and 
with the same treatment and food, the unworked oxen often were in 
no degree superior to those which had been submitted to labour. 
Gieat Britain might learn a lesson from this example if her farmers 
could have been present." 

Were it admitted, as perhaps it should be, that an ox will consume 
more hay or long provender than a horse, it must also be conceded 
that the horse refuses much that will well sustain the ox — and the 
objection can at any rate only apply in all its force where the owner 
is near enough to market to send his hay for sale. Now as the grain- 
crop is more condensed in proportion to value, and admits of much 
easier transportation to market, the horse being the consumer, accord- 
ing to Mr. Stabler's calculation, of ninety bushels more of grain, is 
in that view and in that proportion the more expensive animal of the 
two. In a national point of view it is worthy of remark that he con- 
sumes too the very staple which goes most efficiently to increase and 
sustain the population and strength of a country ; very few, perhaps, 
have reflected on the number of people who may be kept on the food 
of one horse. For example, the usual allowance for a slave is a peck 



156 ESSAY ON THE 

of corn-meal and three and a half pounds of meat for a week, besides 
salt fish and vegetables ; not enough, supposing the meat to be con- 
verted into hay, to keep the horse he drives for a single day. 

Another view which must not be overlooked is, that the ox makes 
much more and belter manure than the horse. He is, in fact, a much 
better machine for grinding down by his ruminating process into 
manure, all the provender which cannot be taken for sale from the 
farm. It is in few cases economical, often not even with hogs, to 
consume the grain on the farm; and of all things that eat it, not 
excepting poultry and pigeons, the horse is the most expensive, as 
he gives it back in no way but by his labour, and therefore is the last- 
animal that should be kept when it can be avoided. 

We proceed to the practical suggestions which it is believed will 
be useful to those who may feel persuaded to adopt our recommend- 
ations. 

Breaking. — The sooner this is commenced, the more complete 
will be the command of the teamster. It would be well, if conve- 
nient, to have them named and haltered, and taught to stand and to 
start, to " gee" and to " haw," when not more than a year old, and 
slightly worked in the summer and autumn after they are two. Gee 
and haw are the terms used in most parts of the country. The first 
indicates that the yoke is to incline off to the right, or from the near 
side on which the driver should always take his stand. The yoke, 
however, should not be put on their necks until they are to be work- 
ed, as they might acquire a habit of running off in it, which it will 
be found very difficult to correct. 

The directions which follow are taken principally from practical 
observations by T. P. Stabler, of Montgomery county, who has per- 
formed in Maryland all the requisite labour on a farm of one hundred 
and sixty acres, with but one horse in addition to his oxen, and of 
Mr. Gilman, then of Alexandria. " The proper time," says Mr. Sta- 
bler, "for putting them to work, is at three years old; and such as 
have not been handled, as above recommended, while growing, should 
be driven round the field for a day or two, before being yoked, so as 
to tire them." The propriety of this is proved by the greater ease 
with which they are broken, when taken and yoked directly out 
of a drove, before they have time to recruit from the fatigue of tra- 
velling. Instead, then, of being yoked two together, they should be 
tied by the horns (with a rope slipped over and resting on the top of 
the head) to the side of a house, taking care that there be no place 
for the horns to become entangled, and stand tied in this manner till 
they cease to pull by the cord, w T hich will in most cases be in a day 
or two. They may then be led very readily, and taught to turn, stop, 
or start, singly, just as a colt may be, instead of coupling two toge- 
ther at first, which any man in the care of horses would condemn, as 
being most likely to end in the destruction of one or both, which has 
not unfrequently happened with young steers wiien forcibly yoked 
together in the first instance. 



USE OF OXEN. 157 

" When two young cattle," says Mr. Stabler, " are yoked and 
turned loose with their tails tied together to run and plunge about, 
they are almost certain to acquire a habit of running away ; and even 
should this not be the case, one, and sometimes both, lose a part of 
their tail in these violent exertions. When they are sufficiently 
broken to the halter, they maybe placed side by side, for the purpose 
of receiving the yoke, having reference to their relative size, strength, 
and mastership ; because, if one is stronger and more free than the 
other, he should be placed on the oif-side that the team may rather 
incline to, than from the driver." 

If one should be larger than the other, he will be likely to be 
stronger and more free; and, should they be put to the plough, the 
furrow ox being the larger, the yoke will be kept nearer a level than 
in the other case. It requires but little observation to see that they 
are easier to be turned to the right, or made to " gee," than to the left, 
or to '^haw," or " come hither ;" therefore, if the master-ox be on the 
off-side, he will assist in controlling the near or left one in " coming 
round ;" but when reversed, and the master-ox on the near side, and 
he not altogether willing to " come here," the team is some time 
stationary ; for let the then off-ox be ever so willing to obey the voice 
of the driver, the horn of the near one speaks a contrary language, 
equally intelligible. After the yoke is put on securely, their tails 
should be well tied together, and they suffered to stand tied as before 
until a strong pen is built round them, not more than sixteen or 
eighteen feet in diameter, taking care that the ends of the rails do not 
extend inwardly. The ropes should then be loosed, if possible, in 
such a way that they will not be sensible of it. Here they will soon 
learn to turn themselves about, without one violent exertion, or the 
least fright. They should be tied up as before, at night, their tails 
untied, and the yoke removed, to be replaced in the morning as be- 
fore ; and the day following they may be led or driven in a larger 
space. By this time the cause will be gained in a manner calculated 
to insure a prime pair of cattle. They may now be attached to some- 
thing light, and led about for a few hours, daily and gradually in- 
creasing the draft, and greasing their necks occasionally, to prevent 
galling. When put to the cart or harrow with others already 
broken, contrary to the usual practice, they should be placed before 
instead of behind them ; by which arrangement it will be found that 
if frightened the old cattle will not let them run; but, if otherwise, 
they, by running against the older ones, may frighten them also. 

In Kentucky they practise another mode of breaking steers, which 
is thus described : — Where the establishment is a large one, and 
there are some to be broken in, every year, the fixture and practice 
here recommended would seem to be eligible and judicious — " Get a 
strong post eight feet long by two thick ; plant it three and a half 
feet in the ground, well rammed ;. round or level the top of the post, 
and leave a pin to it, or make a mortice and insert a strong two-inch 
pin of tough wood in it, perpendicularly at the top, six or eight inches 
14 



158 ESSAY ON THE 

long. Then get a tough sapling, twenty-five feet long; measure off 
at the small end of it the usual length of a yoke, and bore the holes 
for your bows. Then bore three holes, or more if you choose, four, 
eight, and twelve feet from the other end of the sapling, of the size 
of the pin in the top of the post, giving the shortest lever first, draw 
your steers up, let them be young or old, gentie or wild, it makes no 
difference; yoke them to the end of the pole; but instead of tying 
their tails together, if you wish to avoid bob-tailed oxen, tie their 
loins together with a good rope, wrap up their head halters, clear the 
front, and let them go; round and round they will go with a rush; 
drunk — drunker still they grow, until groaning, down they drop. 
For a while they lie panting and looking wild ; at length they leap 
as if suddenly frightened, rush round and round again, grow drunk 
and drop again. Leave them, they will repeat the experiment, until 
reeling, they will stop or stand. In a few hours you may lead them 
around by their halters. Uncouple them from the pole, or yoke them 
to your cart, and drive them where you please with safety. The 
preceding method is recommended with confidence from personal 
knowledge by Mr. William P. Hart, of Kentucky. 

There js no point in the comparison between oxen and horses which 
more strongly illustrates the economy of ox-power than the difference 
in the expense of gearing. 

For each horse employed on public roads, where it is in constant 
use, the harness costs, according to the best information, as has been 
seen, twenty dollars; being one hundred and twenty dollars for a 
team of six, leaving the swingle or whiflle-trees, as they constitute a 
part of the wagon, out of the question ; and this harness is not ex- 
pected to last more than six years; while for six oxen, the whole 
gearing, consisting of three yokes and two chains, would not cost 
more than twenty dollars, and would probably last twenty years. 

A singular method of accustoming young animals to draw is prac- 
tised in France ; and, although it must be admitted that few nations 
have been more the slaves of routine and of old habits, or slower in 
the progress of improvement in agricultural implements, yet the 
system they pursue in this instance, as here illustrated, looks and 
reads so plausibly as to appear worthy of trial, and to bespeak confi- 
dence in its efficacy. It is well known that nothing is more humbling 
to the wildest and most indomitable animal than the sufferings of 
extreme hunger; and among the French, in the very act of satisfying 
its cravings, they habituate young animals to the yoke and harness. 
For this purpose they attach them to the manger by means of a cord 
which runs through a ring, at the extremity of which a weight is at- 
tached, as represented at A, in the annexed Plate, so that the animal 
may, at pleasure, approach or recede from the manger. A collar is 
put on the animal with two cords fixed to a bar or swingle-tree, to 
which another cord is attached at B, which passes through the pulley 
af C, and to which is suspended a weight as at D, to be increased or 
diminished at pleasure. Things being thus arranged, fodder is put 



USE OP OXEN. 



159 




160 ESSAY ONT HE 

in the rack. The animal, when pressed with hunger, approaches his 
food, in doing which he raises the weight, and keeps it suspended as 
long as he continues to eat, and thus contracts the habit of drawing 
in a few days* He is free to relax his exertions, for whenever he 
recedes, the weight reposes on the ground. 

" In many respects," says Mr. Gilman, " proud man must look up to 
the beast as his superior: man's reason is replete with error; but in- 
stinct, or the inference drawn by a brute, from certain sounds and mo- 
tions, after having once learned their purport, is infallible. I have seen 
the best drilled soldier mistake, for the instant, advance arms for recover 
arms, but never saw a well-trained ox mistake gee for haw, or haw 
for gee: hence, system is indispensable in the management of work- 
ing cattle. He who would work them with ease and facility, should 
maintain a strict uniformity in his conduct towards them. They must 
have names ; therefore, calves intended to be raised for working 
should be named while young, to which they become familiar by the 
time they are ready for the yoke. Anything appropriate to their 
colour, shape, &c, is proper; such as bright, broad, line, spark, back, 
star, turk, golden, &c." 

" The bulfaloe breed of cattle, or those without horns, will not an- 
swer well for working, as horns are necessary in backing a cart, and 
in carrying it down hill. This may be obviated by having a plain 
harness with breeching fastened to the yoke of the oxen to the 
tongue, as is the practice in Pennsylvania. Oxen should never be 
changed in the yoke after having been broke ; the near and off-ox 
should always remain as such ; by changing them, they become con- 
fused, and all the benefit of their tuition is lost." 

" A temporary change, however, can be made in one instance to ad- 
vantage ; this is when they hang off from each other, as they are apt 
to do in bad travelling, when they get fretted; they then cut each 
other's feet with their shoes ; shifting them puts this out of their head 
for that time." 

" There are, however, several ways in which oxen may be geared 
for work ; they are willing to earn their bread any way ; they have 
been tried and found to pull by a yoke on the neck, by a shaft lashed 
across the forehead, and traces to its ends; by traces fastened to the 
horns; by harness like horses; and they will pull by the tail. From 
these various modes, it is the husbandman's duty first to study the 
nature and convenience of the ox : secondly, economy and his own 
convenience, and then select that which embraces most of these de- 
sirable objects." 

" There are but two of these modes mentioned that can be adopted 
with any degree of satisfaction or success ; these are the yoke and 
the harness. From the former being in general, not to say universal 
use, the inference is a natural one, that some inconvenience must at- 
tend the latter. The form of the ox is one objection to harness ; his 
belly is so much wider than his shoulders, it is embraced so hard by 
the iron traces as to impede his wind, as well as to be injured bj 



USE OP OXEN. 161 

galling. The yoke, on the other hand, being of hard wood, appears 
to be an instrument that would gall, but I never knew any injury 
done by it. The neck of the bullock seems by nature fitted for the 
yoke; the skin, naturally thick, soon becomes so callous as not to be 
hurt by friction ; it is there his strength lies, even to a proverb. 

In point of economy, there is a wide disparity between the harness 
and yoke ; the expense of the former to that of the latter, for eight 
years' wear, would be as ten to one, and the time of gearing and un- 
gearing is as three to one ; in other words, a yoke will cost only five 
dollars, which will average eight years' wear, and can be put to oxen 
in two minutes. 

A yoke which is properly made for oxen of equal size and strength 
will have no particular end for the near or off-ox ; but the bows being 
sometimes untrue, will fit to the neck better one particular way. This 
the nice teamster will observe, and always put them so. An ox can 
feel as sensibly as a man the pains of tight or unfitting accoutre- 
ments ; but not being so fluently gifted, and being too noble and 
patient to shrink on that account from his task, it particularly be- 
hooves every driver (who cannot all day wear a key or penknife in 
the foot of his boot) to be vigilant that the tackle sits easy and free 
on his team. 

When oxen are unequally matched as to strength, the strongest is 
apt to carry his end of the yoke several inches before the other ; this 
makes the yoke uneasy to them, and is soon remedied by putting the 
staple of the yoke nearest to the end of the strong ox. It does not, 
however, always follow that the stronger ox carries the fore end of 
the yoke. It often occurs that an inequality of strength begets such 
ambition in the weaker ox as will ruin him by his overstraining him- 
self for an even yoke. The driver should be attentive to this circum- 
stance (if it ever occurs with him), and remedy it, as has been just 
pointed out. 

It is unnecessary, in yoking well-tutored oxen, to lug the yoke 
round the yard after them, as they are easily called to that. I have 
often called the ox I wanted from a drove of all sorts of cattle. Stand 
the yoke on one end ; take out the off-ox's bow ; steady the yoke 
with the left hand, and with the right hold up the bow towards the 
ox, and beckoning with it, call him by name to you ; slip the bow- 
under his neck; turn the yoke down upon it; enter it in the bow- 
holes, and put in the bow-pin; then take out the other bow, and 
lifting up the near end of the yoke with the left hand, with the bow 
in the right call the near-ox also by name, w r ho will come and "bow 
his neck to the yoke," and is harnessed the same as his companion. 

An ox-goad to drive with is made of hickory, or any tough wood, 
three and a half to four and a half feet long, as may suit the whim 
of the driver, about the size of a man's finger, with a prick or sharp 
point of iron in the end, projecting not more than a quarter of an 
inch. This is more cheap and simple, and has been found to answer 
much better than a whip, 01 a long green withe. The ludicrous 
14* 



162 ESSAY ON THE 

practice of using the latter, and of having a driver on both sides of 
the team to keep them straight, or of fastening a rope to the horn of 
the near-ox for the same purpose, cannot be too soon exploded. 
Riding on oxen is a shameful lazy practice, that should also be done 
away with. Oxen may, and ought to be so taught, that by speaking 
to them and making a kind of beckoning motion with the goad, they 
will come to ; or, in other words, turn to the left without the trouble 
of an assistant on the off-side, or a rope to pull them round. 

I would have one thing remembered in driving oxen, (which also 
applies to every species of servants), I mean the impolitic habit of a 
uniform harsh deportment, and of keeping the goad constantly going 
over them ; it is a needless tax upon the lungs and sinews ; the oxen 
will not do so much work for it ; and, what is worse, they become so 
callous from this perpetual rough discipline, that they cannot easily 
be brought to any extra exertion when it is indeed necessary. 

The benefit of a calm management has been very apparent to me 
when I have been driving in company with these peevish geniuses ; 
and coming to a steep hill, I would then speak sharp and determined 
to my team, and ply the goad pretty freely, if necessary. This treat- 
ment, so novel, would be fully appreciated ; every one of them would 
pull as for his life, and the hill would be quickly surmounted ; while 
the driver who has always been speaking harshly, and always been 
plying his goad, could not here make use of any new argument to 
stimulate his cattle to the exigence of the moment. The consequence 
was, he would often have to receive assistance from a team no stronger 
than his own. Drivers should acquaint themselves with the burthen 
of their oxen, and never load them beyond it ; it discourages and 
hurts them. 

Because they are very strong, many unthinking taskmasters appear 
to believe them omnipotent. When they are properly taken care of, 
they are not apt to be sparing of their strength ; they are sometimes 
profuse with it. 

I have often been beset with difficulties when at work alone in the 
woods with a yoke or two of oxen, and have then thought I could 
perceive traits of reason in them ; for, in proportion to my anxiety 
and exertions to extricate myself, have I seen their's spontaneously 
to increase. 

That all cattle should be sheltered in cold and wet weather, is ob- 
vious to every person ; but to those that work, it is indispensable ; 
their health and strength depend upon it. 

From the severity and duration of our winters at the northward, 
our barns are generally spacious, and calculated to hold as much as 
possible of our grain and hay. No doubt, however, but this is good 
economy in every climate in the United States ; as the farmer loses 
as much in quantity and quality of his produce in a short time, by 
stacking out, as would build a barn. 

Our old-fashioned barns, I believe, are not susceptible of much im- 
provement. Those which cattle are wintered in are built a small 



USE OP OXEN. 163 

distance from the house on a rising ground, with a yard opened to, 
and descending a little towards the south, if such a spot be near ; it 
being thereby warmer, kept cleaner, and the wash enriches the adja- 
cent ground. The barn has two large doors opposite each other for 
the convenience of driving loads of grain and hay; on one or both 
sides of this thoroughfare is a stall for cattle, say ten feet wide and 
six and a half high, and running the whole width of the barn ; so 
that if a barn were forty feet long, the stalls would take up ten feet 
on each end, and twenty would of course be the width of the tho- 
roughfare; which latter being also used as the threshing-floor, i9 
floored with two-inch plank, well joined. 

The partition between this and the stalls is only three feet high, 
for the convenience of feeding cattle, whose crib joins the partition, 
and is thus made : — A piece of timber, the length of the stall, about 
four inches thick by eight wide, is laid down on edge, parallel with 
the partition, and two and a half feet from it; this makes a crib on 
the floor, being the most natural one that cattle can have to feed at. 
It is perfectly clean, as the stall-floors have a gradual descent of about 
three inches. Immediately over this timber is another smaller one 
of the same length, fixed to the joist above; in both of these timbers 
from end to end holes are bored at three feet distance, and smooth 
round stations or studs, three inches in diameter, are fixed therein ; 
round each of these stations is bent a small hickory hank or hook, 
sufficiently loose to play up and down thereon ; a wooden bow passing 
through this hoop, embraces the neck of the ox, who is thereby kept 
at his post, yet still has every rational liberty. He has room to eat his 
food, lay down, or stand at his pleasure. (See drawings on page 164.) 
These stalls have small windows, four feet from the floor, and a con- 
venient distance from each other, through which to throw the manure. 
Satisfactory experience of the safety and economy of this mode of 
housing cattle has made it universal in that quarter. 

On tying up cattle for the night, respect should be had to mastery 
among them ; the strongest should be put in first, and at the further 
end from the door, and so on, according as they hold dominion over 
each other, leaving the cows, yearlings, &c, next the door, in case 
of civil war among them. 

It is interesting when " the curfew tolls the knell of parting day," 
and the farmer's boy opens his stall-door and gives a nod of invitation 
to his "leadings characters," to see them forming" a line of march, 
entering the door, and taking their places precisely according to rank, 
without martial music, word of command, or confusion. 

The thorough-bred teamster never suffers himself to partake of his 
repast before his oxen have begun theirs. They require little else in 
winter but good wholesome hay and water ; but when sufficient time 
cannot well be allowed them to dine on hay, then corn in the ear is 
the best thing that can be given them. Pumpkins are also very grate- 
ful to them, and being remarkably prolific, may be raised with little 
trouble. In winter, cattle are tied up and fed at about sunset ; fed 



164 



ESSAY ON THE 




USE OF OXEN. 165 

again at eight o'clock; again at daylight; then at sunrise they are 
ready for the labours of the day. This mode of feeding is considered 
preferable, being fresher in small quantities, eaten more freely, and 
less liable to get under their feet, and be wasted. 

Carts being cheaper than wagons, and handier about the ordinary 
business of a farm, are therefore to be desired. Different kinds of 
bodies may be attached occasionally to one pair of wheels ; an open 
one for hay, sheaves, &c, and a close one for fruit and vegetables. 
The naked wheels are handy to haul spars, poles, and all kinds of 
long timber on. In hitching a cart to the oxen, the tongue or spire 
thereof passes into the ring of the ox-yoke, as far as the shoulder in 
the tongue will permit ; an iron instrument called a copes pin, resem- 
bling the capital letter U, is put on the end of the tongue, embracing 
it above and below, and the copes pin is inserted through the end of 
the tongue and through the copes. This copes is for the purpose of 
hitching the second yoke of oxen to, when necessary. (See drawing 
on page 164.) 

Wherever oxen and yokes are used, chains become indispensable ; 
four of these, each ten feet long, with a hook in each end, or part of 
them with a ring in one end and a hook at the other, are enough for 
two or three yokes of oxen. 

The drawings opposite are necessary for a better understanding of 
what has been said. 

Fig. 1 represents a cart-tongue hitched to a yoke, as in the act of 
drawing; a is the copes pin, which goes through the tongue, and by 
which the yoke draws ; b is the copes by which the second pair is 
hitched, when necessary. 

Fig. 2, a stanchion and bows, by which cattle are secured at their 
crib ; a, the cap lies flat on top of their neck ; the end of the bow at 
b is sometimes like a button, and is put in the hole at c, and springs 
into its place. 

At Fig. 3 is the model of a yoke for a middling sized pair of oxen. 
Whole length, three and a half feet ; distance of bow-holes, a to a, 
twenty inches ; from b to 6, in the clear, six and a half inches. The 
bows being something of an oval form, and c to c being the greatest 
swell, and where the ox's shoulders come, the staple e should be in 
a direct line between, so that the strain will come right, in drawing : 
d d may be flat keys or round pins of wood ; one in each bow is suffi- 
cient. The stuff of which the bows are made must be at least one 
and a half inches in diameter. 

There is no good reason why the ox should not be worked singly ; 
so might cows when not at the pail very well do the single ploughing, 
and haul light loads in carts; and it would be yet more economical 
and expedient to spay and work heifers under certain circumstances. 
In Spain and France it is a common practice. Every judicious farmer 
will endeavour to get all possible remuneration for the certain expense 
attendant upon the keeping of everything that consumes the produce of 
his land. Even the dog that eats what would keep a pig, besides guard- 



166 



ESSAY ON THE 



ing his house, protecting his fields, and finding his game, is made by 
the calculating New England man to churn his butter. 

It is observed that less food is necessary for spayed heifers to keep 
and fatten them than is required for the ox ; and Mr. Marshall, in 
his rural economy of Yorkshire, remarks, that it is a fact well esta- 
blished in the practice of that district, that they work better, and have 
better wind than oxen. 

It is a common thing to see a single ox in a cart at Norfolk in 
Virginia, among a people as little as any other observant of improve- 
ments going on in agricultural machinery. That whole States, even 
where oxen are used, should forego the use of single oxen, serves to 
show how proverbially slow is the change of habits among agricultu- 
rists. Large bulls of immense strength are often kept and fed^through 
the entire year, for the sole purpose of their services for eight or ten 
cows, when they might haul immense quantities of wood and manure 
in vehicles adapted to the purpose. 

For an ox working singly, some recommend a single harness with 
the collar reversed ; but for the reasons he gives, and which are ob- 
vious, the single yoke recommended by Mr. Stabler, and here exhi- 
bited, is greatly to be preferred. When the collar is used, and the 
draught heavy, the pressure of the traces on the sides is obviated by 
the yoke. The length for a single yoke must be proportioned to the 
thickness of the animal, so that the traces will be as far apart when 
fastened to a small hook on the under side of each end as is required 
to prevent his sides from being chafed. The following will show the 
proper shape of the single yoke : — 




It will be observed that by placing the hooks perpendicularly 
through tne e »ds of the yoke, the draught is applied precisely as in 
the double yoke, and the bow consequently keeps its proper place. 

. Mr * Sta bler, a nice observer and a practical man, residing in a 
middle State, sets it down that a horse when at work must have at 



USE OF OXEN. 167 

least three gallons of grain a day, and for six months in the year one 
hundred and twenty-five pounds of hay per week. Supposing him to 
be at work only two-thirds of his time, and during the remainder to 
he kept on hay or pasture alone, he must consume upwards of ninety 
bushels of grain, and two thousand eight hundred and seventy-five 
pounds of hay in a year, which latter is amply sufficient, with such 
pasture as the horse must have, (and some additional coarse food in 
the winter), to keep the ox in prime order for work without the use 
of any grain. Thus it appears, that for every ox substituted for a 
horse, there are ninety bushels of grain saved in the year. 

From data given, Mr. Stabler shows a saving on four oxen instead 
of four horses in twelve years, of two thousand four hundred andfffy 
dollars — and concludes his observations on the subject with this 
wholesome advice : — 

" It cannot be too strongly urged upon those who are about em- 
barking in agricultural pursuits as a means of securing a livelihood, 
(and who may be free from many of the prejudices entertained against 
oxen), to make the experiment at least, and give the thing a fair 
trial, before they encumber themselves with that moth, a stock of 
farm-horses ; in doing which, it will easily be seen they hazard no- 
thing ; for should any wish to abandon the plan after a sufficient 
trial, one summer's grass will enable them to obtain, in cash, an ad- 
vance on the first cost of their cattle, if young and thrifty ; and such 
are always to be had." 

J. S. S. 



SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 



" Be thou diligent to know the state of thy fiock." 



The subject of sheep husbandry, as adapted to the United States, 
involves so many considerations, that no system can be recommended 
for universal adoption, so much do the objects to be kept in view de- 
pend on the circumstances of the farmer — the food at his command 
and the markets within his reach. The most that can be done with 
promise of usefulness is to describe the characteristics of the several 
races of sheep which are known to be in the country, and, laying 
down some general principles as applicable to sheep husbandry, 
under all views of the subject, leave the farmer to determine how far 
it may be expedient to appropriate a portion of his capital and care 
to the business of sheep raising, and what breed promises to yield 
the best return. While one farmer convenient to a large market will 
naturally look to the butcher as his best customer, another will find 
his interest in the adoption of a breed that will best meet the demands 
of the manufacturer. The one chooses a kind of sheep that will in 
the shortest time give him the best return in meat ,• the other bestows 
his care on the one whose fleece will bring him the most money, the 
carcase being regarded only as subsidiary to that end. And a^ain, 
where lamb and mutton are the principal objects, the choice of the 
breed may depend on the quality of the soil and the abundance of the 
pasture : where these are rich and luxuriant, a breed which ripens 
soonest, and is most inclined to fat, as the Bakewell, or a yet much 
larger sheep — a variety of the Lincolnshire — called the Cotswold 
breed, will be preferred more especially, and as long as the butcher 
has to consult the prevalent and vulgar taste for fatness, above all 
other qualities of meat. 

On the other hand, for the far greater portion of the United States, 
where pastures are more scanty, and the animal is exposed without 
regular feeding or care to all the vicissitudes of climate, a more hardy 
race, as the improved South-down, is to be preferred. Here it may be 
added that the present race of South-downs, such as have been im- 

(168) 



DISEASES OP SHEEP. 169 

ported to the United States, as will hereafter be seen, are as much 
meliorated and improved in form and early maturity over the little 
old animal of that name, of times gone by, as is the improved short- 
horned breed of cattle on the original stock upon which they were 
built. 

This improvement of the South-down has been accomplished, not 
by crossing and dovetailing with other breeds, but by a much safer 
process, one which guarantees a continuation of its established ex- 
cellence under ordinarily good management ; by crossing to be sure, 
but by crossing with and upon their own blood ; the best South-down 
ram upon the best South-down ewe; thus perfecting the shape and 
disposition of the breed until a British writer entitled to great weight 
has expressed the opinion in respect of it which we anticipate will 
prevail and be acted upon before a great many years throughout the 
greater portion of the United States, to wit : — that, " taking all their 
qualities fairly into account, the South-down excels for general pur- 
poses any breed in Great Britain." The intelligent reader will, 
however, be the better enabled to judge for himself, when the pecu- 
liar qualities of the several breeds shall have been, as we propose, 
impartially and more particularly described. 

Fluctuation of price has heretofore restricted, and will continue to 
limit, investments in fine-woolled sheep ; and this uncertainty of price 
is the consequence of two causes which but too strongly forbid the 
hope of long-continued uniformity in that particular, to wit: — the 
fluctuating tariff policy of the country, rising or sinking in the scale 
as one party or another gains or loses the ascendant; and then again 
liable to be depressed by the ready facilit} r with which in a short 
time the supply may be brought up to and above the level of the 
demand ; making it so uncertain whether the remunerating price of 
one year may not be followed by a ruinous depression the next. 
Under all circumstances, the grazier of sheep that yield a wool of 
moderately good quality, can probably make his calculations with 
more certainty ; for, should the prospect justify it, he has but to 
withhold his flock another year from the butcher, to avail himself of 
a rise in the wool-market. In New England, the calculation is, that 
if the fleece be carefully shorn when ripe, and the pelt carefully 
stripped from the carcass when the sheep dies, his death can be at- 
tended with no positive loss at any rate, let it die when or how it 
may. Taking all the chances of reasonable profit, in the existing 
condition of the country, there can be no doubt that the sheep hus- 
bandry of the United States, in all the States, south and west of 
Pennsylvania especially, might be sooner extended, with less outlay, 
and a surer prospect of remunerating results, than could almost any 
other branch of industry, if sheep-masters could be brought to bestow 
upon it a degree of care and of regular management approaching to 
that which this interesting business commands in older countries. 
Have we not in the ice-bound regions of the north convincing proof 
that in the vast expanse of the middle and southern States, the rear- 
15 



170 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 

ing of sheep for the butcher, and of wool for the manufacturer, ought 
to be a leading object of attention 1 Yet look at the table hereafter 
to be presented, of the number of sheep to the acre in the States of 
Maryland and Virginia, and the Carolinas, with their fine possessions 
of cheap mountain land, compared with the number in Vermont and 
New York ! It would really seem as if these old southern States 
were animated by that antipathy to this emblem of meekness and 
innocence which the great cynic " of Roanoke" once avowed on the 
floor of congress would prompt him to go " out of his way at any 
time to kick a sheep!" New York, one sheep for every two and a 
half acres ; Maryland and Virginia, one for every thirty-three ; South 
Carolina, only one for every hundred ; and Arkansas, one for every 
thousand acres ! 

Were it allowable in this mere introduction to a work on the diseases 
of sheep, the whole subject of sheep husbandry is one which might 
be profitably, if it were well discussed, opening as it does so wide a 
field for observation and lecture. All that we can take space to do 
will be to call attention to the unemployed capacities of the country 
for doubling its flocks from Pennsylvania to the southern and western 
limits of the Union ; and he who runs may read the addition which 
may thus so easily, and with so little cost, be made to the aggregate 
wealth of the country. 

How different the calculation and the practice in the north, where, 
incredible as it may appear, it is truly a common thing for farmers 
to go round as winter approaches and buy up large numbers of old 
sheep at a price little, if any more, than the worth of their skins, the 
profit of the speculation consisting in part in the value of the carcass 
as food for their hogs. The pelt being first taken off, the carcass is 
boiled, or tryed, as they term it, for the tallow it will yield ; the 
residuum is given to their hogs, meal being mixed therewith, not 
long before they are slaughtered. 

It has been somewhere said that our enlightened minister in Eng- 
land was thought to be "boiling the ewe" with John Bull, when he 
alluded to this "practice in New England ; hence we may suppose 
that sheep have been brought to no such base uses in Great Britain; 
but it has been many )^ears since the writer was assured at Brighton, 
Massachusetts, that flocks of sheep were sometimes sent with droves 
of hogs from Vermont to that market, to constitute, in part, their 
cheapest provision on the way ; and very recently Mr. Hyde, a re- 
spectable and extensive mail contractor from Vermont, sustained in 
his statement by Mr. Russel, formerly a member of congress from 
New York, declared the system of buying up and appropriating old 
sheep, as before stated, to be a matter of common occurrence. The 
facts are here mentioned to show to the owners of millions of acres 
of unappropriated hilly and mountain lands from the western branch 
of the Susquehanna to the State of Alabama, that very nice calcu- 
lators of profit and loss find their account in raising sheep, even 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 171 

where land is from twenty to one hundred dollars an acre, and with- 
out stipulating for high prices for mutton and for wool. 

In viewing this branch of industry as it is pursued in other coun- 
tries, it must be conceded that in none of them is the sheep to be 
found in such variety as in England, nor are the principles of sheep 
management anywhere better understood. Ten years since, the 
number in England was estimated at thirty-two millions, and the 
value of wool at seven millions pounds sterling; while in the United 
States, one of which is larger than England, there were not exceed- 
ing twenty millions of sheep in 1840. 

But here again, as in other industrial pursuits, the superiority of 
British husbandry is referable, not to more advanced knowledge, but 
to lower wages for labour, and to their greater humidity of climate, 
which enables them to provide succulent r} r e and other grass pastures 
in early spring, but more especially in the productiveness of their 
turnip husbandry. Each contributes to sustain and extend the other, 
and both to supporting and increasing population. But the vast crops 
of turnips on which English sheep are folded, are produced with an 
outlay of labour in quantity that nothing but the cheapness of it 
would warrant, and at an expense after all which shows how as ne- 
cessary capital is to the best system of tillage as it is to the prosecu- 
tion of mercantile or any other business. How great again must be 
the profits of the turnip crop, direct and indirect, to authorise a tenant 
on land loaded with taxes to go to an expense of nearly fifty dollars 
per acre in putting in his root crop, as may be seen in the article Ap- 
praisement, in that inestimable work for the American agriculturist, 
Governeur Emerson's edition of the American Encyclopedia, pub- 
lished by Carey & Hart of Philadelphia. The details as there given 
of expenditures in putting in only seventeen acres of Swedish tur- 
nips, are estimated at nearly nine hundred dollars, a sum actually 
paid for the crop in the ground, in a case stated by the in-coming 
tenant. Owing to the mildness of their winter, the turnip crop is 
left on the land, and sheep are hurdled on small lots at a time. The 
land is thus wonderfully sustained and improved for the production 
of barley and wheat, yielding of the latter in many cases forty, fifty, 
and sixty bushels, and that in light land. How admirably adapted 
too would be these two products thus auxiliary to each other, turnips 
and sheep, to the sandy lands in some of the counties along our 
southern seaboard ! In England, both Old and New, instead of 
leaving, as is done in some of the southern States, large numbers of 
sheep to die off, of poverty and old age, breeding from the worst, and 
to the last, and thus producing a diseased and rickety stock, they are 
systematically sorted out, fattened at a given age, and handed over 
to the butcher. 

The best sheep-masters in England fatten and sell off their ewes, 
at four or at most five years old. It was the opinion of the celebrated 
Mr. Ell man, a British farmer of high and liberal character, that 
though an old ewe would bring a large lamb, yet such a lamb will 



172 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 

not generally make a large or fine sheep ; nor will it, as he thought, 
fatten so well as a lamb from a younger ewe. He made the same 
observations on cows, sows, mares, and even bitches. 

There is an almost universal readiness to believe that by saga- 
ciously crossing different breeds, the best qualities of all may be 
obtained in one, and the worst of any one bred out. But experiments 
have not verified these speculative attempts, either with sheep or 
cattle ; and even if admitted to be practicable, it would require rare 
skill, the fruit of great sagacity and experience, to carry it out suc- 
cessfully. The prudent farmer, therefore, will do better, having first 
made himself distinctly acquainted with the inherent peculiarities of 
the different races within his reach, to make his choice of some par- 
ticular one, which, under all circumstances, promises to pay best for 
his outlay of attention and oapital. Having done that, if a man of 
pride and diligence, he will go on breeding systematically, until in a 
few years he may be proud to exhibit his flock to the best judges. 
Entering upon sheep husbandry with that feeling, he will be ex- 
tremely careful in the first instance in the selection of his breeding 
ram. Mr. Ellman, the distinguished English farmer and sheep- 
master before referred to, recommends one ram for a flock of eighty 
or one hundred ewes, unless a lamb ram be used, in which case he 
advises only forty ewes. Great care should be taken that some bad 
point in the form, or old stain in the blood of the ram chosen, does 
not counterbalance the good points which it is desired he should 
communicate to his progeny. He will reserve from his whole flock 
the very best ewe lambs to the number necessary to keep up his re- 
gular stock of breeding ewes ; he will have his ram let to his ewes 
on a given day, to ensure the yeaning of his lambs at the very season 
which his best judgment tells him will be most advantageous ; and 
he will take care that his flock comes into the feeding yard in good 
season and in good condition, well knowing that according to the 
maxim of the shepherd, sheep well summered are already half win- 
tered. He will be careful to sort out and get rid of all unthrifty and 
unsightly individuals, and to ensure a flock of uniform healthiness 
of condition and comeliness in the eye of the practised and sagacious 
observer ; he will regularly sell off all after a given age. It may be 
as confidently remarked of sheep as it may of every production of 
the animal and vegetable world, that to attain a high degree of ex- 
cellence, it should be, not forced, but well kept, and never stinted in 
infancy or during that period which nature has assigned to its growth. 
Without careful attention to this, it is impossible to establish for any 
flock of sheep the character of excellence. No after-management or 
nourishment can eradicate the effects of neglect or short feed at this 
period. It not only diminishes the frame, but impairs the constitu- 
non. Hence, in regard to sheep, it is obviously necessary so to have 
lambs yeaned at a season when the ewe may be well sustained with 
what may be requisite to ensure a good supply of milk, and that 
snould consist of good sound clean hay, or well-cured corn-blades, 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 173 

with some vegetables in winter, as being necessary alike in a medici- 
nal point of view, and as tending to increase the quantity of milk. 
Or if vegetables, either turnips, potatoes, or sugar-beets, have not, or 
cannot be provided, then the season of yeaning, a matter always 
under the control of the sheep-master, should be postponed until the 
rye lots, sowed with express reference to this subject, may afford the 
best pasture, or at all events, in the absence of that provision, until 
the grass has " taken a start." And herein Great Britain may well 
boast her eminent advantage over us ; one that with a view to sheep 
yet more than to cattle husbandry, more than counterbalances the 
great boon of Providence to these United States, Indian corn. If the 
political economist were called upon to indicate the broadest basis 
and most fruitful source of English wealth and population, he might 
probably designate the introduction of turnip culture. 

Lord Townshend, in the reign of George III., having accompanied 
that monarch to Hanover, there saw turnips cultivated in open fields, 
as fodder for cattle, brought home the seed, and in spite of the ridicule 
which was cast upon the undertaking, he succeeded in persuading 
some of his tenants to plant them, and thus it happened that the 
heaths and wastes of Norfolk, that might have to this day remained 
in their original barrenness, were converted into magnificent vegetable 
and grain fields. Fed off to sheep that are folded to consume the 
turnip on the ground, the land is at once cleared of weeds, and highly 
manured, so that the original value of the turnip as fodder, great as 
that is, does not equal the resulting benefits in the preparation of the 
soil for heavy crops of grain. Thus the old system of fallowing has 
been superseded, and, as has been eloquently said by an English 
writer, " Mighty nature renews her strength, not by indolent repose, 
but in alterations of energy." 

Considering how lately, and, as it were, accidentally this vegetable 
was introduced into England, it is marvellous to witness its progress 
and effects. From being cultivated only in gardens for cattle, as late 
as the beginning of the eighteenth century, Colquhoun, in his statis- 
tical researches, estimates their value at fourteen millions of pounds 
sterling; and two years since, a respectable writer puts it down as 
being equal to the interest of the national debt. It was in view of 
such facts that our enlightened and eminent fellow citizen, Nicholas 
Bidclle, so well qualified by liberal education, various attainments, 
and philosophic turn of mind, to speak with wisdom and force on all 
useful subjects, was prompted to remark in one of his luminous dis- 
courses on agriculture — "It is strange how things so lowly acquire 
national importance; the best farming is that which will give the 
greatest mass of sustenance to animals, since the less land required 
for animals, the more can be given to the maintenance of human be- 
ings. That fine farming region of England had reached the limit of 
supporting animals ; it has more than doubled or quadrupled its 
power in that respect; and now, odd as the mingling of such dissi- 
milar notions may seem, it is scarcely an exaggeration to say, that 
15* 



174 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 

England's power is based upon its iron, its coal, and its turnips !" 
Thus we rind that sheep, since the introduction of turnip culture in 
England, have increased from sixteen to upwards of thirty-two mil- 
lions. 

Embracing with pleasure every opportunity to do honour to the 
names of those real benefactors of agriculture like Lord Townshend, 
who contribute unostentatiously to multiply the comforts of life, in 
the same connection it may be well for the special benefit of those 
who affect to ridicule book farming and learned farmers, to remark, 
en passant, that the greatest agricultural improvements in all countries 
have been introduced by Gentlemen Farmers; to them the best in- 
formed annalists of English agriculture acknowledge that country to 
be indebted for the turnip, for clover, for sanfoin, for lucerne, potatoes, 
cabbages, &c. While it is admitted that this vegetable has supplied 
in England the great desideratum, winter food for sheep and cattle, 
and given to the supplies of both prodigious extension, it cannot be 
denied that she enjoys for success in turnip husbandry two great 
means which, for better and for worse, are denied to, or are not pos- 
sessed by us. It is better for us in the long run, that labour is too 
dear to bestow on the culture of this vegetable, in the present condi- 
tion of the country, that immense outlay in preparing and manuring 
the land which attends it in England. It is worse for us if we could 
command the labour, that our climate is generally too arid for its 
growth, in anything like the abundance yielded by the turnip crops 
in England ; and such is the severity of our frosts and its action on 
the earth, that it would not be practicable to feed them off to folded 
sheep as in England, where they are confined by hurdles to small 
portions of the field at a time, and moved to fresh lots every morning. 
Against this English crop, however, valued as before stated, we have 
(though not, it must be admitted, altogether available as a substitute 
for turnips in sheep husbandry) our three hundred and seventy-seven 
millions, five hundred and thirty-one thousand, eight hundred and 
seventy-five bushels of Indian corn! which she reckons not at all 
among her cereal grains. Yet it does not by any means follow, that 
because the turnip is not so well suited to our climate, therefore we 
cannot profitably raise them, especially the rutabaga variety, and if 
not them, other vegetables accessary, if not indispensable, in northern 
climates, to the increase of our flocks of sheep. 

In looking for the reason why sheep should be a source of a large 
proportion of the income and wealth of the farmer, in the snow-clad 
regions of Vermont, where his sheep go into the fold-yard in No- 
vember, to be fed until May, one of the most obvious would seem 
to be that the climate is better adapted to hay and to potatoes. Look 
at the statistics in these respects, of Virginia, for example, with her 
forty-four millions eight hundred thousand of acres, and Vermont, 
containing but two millions one hundred and seventy-five thousand, 
we find that the former produces of hay but three hundred and sixty- 
four thousand seven hundred and eight tons, and of potatoes only two 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 175 

millions nine hundred and forty-foin thousand six hundred and sixty 
bushels, while Vermont produces of hay eight hundred and thirty- 
six thousand seven hundred and thirty-nine tons, and eight millions 
eight hundred and sixy-nine thousand seven hundred and fifty-one 
bushels of potatoes ; and somewhat in correspondence with these 
crops, and to indicate the connection of sheep-rearing in some mea- 
sure with them, Virginia, where the sun shines and the grass grows 
on the face of the earth almost every day in the year, carries, as will 
hereafter be seen, but one sheep to every thirty-three acres within her 
borders, while her frost-bitten, snow-clad sister in the north, carries 
one for every two or three acres, and feeds them during five months 
in winter, being content to drive them from one to two hundred miles 
to market, or to get for the wool an average price for the last twenty- 
two years varying from forty-four up to eighty cents per pound, ex- 
cept this year, when it is put down at thirty cents. 

It may as well be noted here in reference to the general manage- 
ment of sheep — indeed of all domestic animals — that in nothing is 
there more gross neglect than in omitting to salt them regularly and 
abundantly. In Spain, where fine wool has been for ages one of 
their chief staples, one hundred and twelve pounds of salt is given 
in five months to one thousand sheep. The late celebrated English 
farmer and writer on agriculture allowed his sheep daily each from 
two to four ounces of salt when on dry pasture, and when fed on 
turnips they were not stinted at all in the use of salt. It is asserted 
as a fact in the Cyclopedia before referred to, that in all cases they 
should have access to common salt; and many are the authorities to 
prove that a free use of salt is a preventive of rot and other diseases. 

We proceed now in fulfilment of an intimation, and for the reason 
already given, to submit a brief sketch of the characteristics of the 
few races from which the farmer, having recourse to those now ac- 
cessible to him in our country, must make his selection, repeating 
the warning that by no skill, in combination, or any artificial mixture 
of bloods, need he expect to get united the fine fleece of the Saxony 
merino, the early maturity and obesity of the new Leicester, the 
weight of the Lincolnshire, or yet larger Cottswold, and the hard- 
ness and fine mutton that give eminence to the South-down. There 
may yet be room to improve any particular breed of cattle or sheep 
by that skill in the choice of breeding stock and perfection in man- 
agement, which care and experience only can beget, but we much 
doubt whether any new breed can be firmly established that shall 
represent the excellencies without the defects of different natural 
races, and one that will, at the same time, endure! All such made-up 
breeds, upon the least relaxation of attention, or the least mistake in 
sorting with a view to breeding stock, will fly to pieces and exhibit 
the defects with which nature is sure to reward the impertinent at- 
tempts of ignorance and presumption to interfere with her fundamental 
laws and purposes. A wayward dame is she, to be consulted, not 
thwarted ; she will accept and repay all efforts of art to carry out her 



176 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 

designs, and to improve her works according to her laws, and even 
leaves room for and invites the exercise of skill and diligence, but 
will not be crossed in her path or permit things which she has 
ordained to be distinct, each with its nature adapted to peculiar cir- 
cumstances and ends, to be mingled up with any hope of forming a 
new organization better in all respects than she had designed. 

In England, the South-down sheep is infinitely improved in all 
that can give it value, except the grain and flavour of the mutton, 
which time immemorial has been esteemed superior, but that has 
been accomplished, not by mingling with it the blood of any other 
family, but by selection and care in breeding and feeding. The de- 
scription of the different breeds of sheep will be confined to those 
which it is known have been imported into the United States in such 
numbers as to give latitude of choice to those who may propose to 
look to the rearing of sheep as an object more worthy of attention 
than it has been hitherto generally regarded — and first of the Spanish 
Merino. This is the head spring of all the known flocks of fine- 
woolled sheep. While their name would indicate that they were 
imported into Spain from beyond sea, their exportation from that 
country was strictly prohibited for ages, until as late as 1765, by 
special license from the King, two hundred were sent to the Elector 
of Saxony, where, according to the best authority, Mr. Jarvis of Ver- 
mont, they were made an object of government attention. A board 
of scientific agriculturists was appointed to draw up rules and direc- 
tions for their management, and to disseminate the breed throughout 
the electoral dominions. Woollen manufactures were likewise en- 
couraged, and the good effects of this wise policy, says Mr. Jarvis, 
soon became apparent, in the increased wealth of the country, and 
the amelioration of the condition of all classes of society. He adds, 
when the merino was first introduced into Saxony, that State, and all 
the rest of Germany, were dependent upon England and France for a 
supply of a considerable part of their woollen goods ; but at this time 
Saxony, as well as several other States of Germany, manufacture all 
the woollen goods that are necessary for their consumption ; in addi- 
tion to which Saxony now exports a considerable amount of woollen 
goods annually, and the rest of Germany an immense amount of 
wool. Mr. Jarvis is of opinion that while, owing to the different 
systems of management that prevail, the Saxony descendant of the 
Spanish sheep has become more and more tender and infirm of con- 
stitution, its fleece has been certainly somewhat improved in this 
country ; and in reference to the suitableness of our own country to 
the growth of the finest wool, he says, — "About six years ago I 
compared my merino wool with fifteen or twenty samples of the 
Paular flock that had been sent me from Spain where I purchased, 
and eight of the ten judges who examined the tw T o, gave a decided 
preference to that taken from the backs of my sheep." He goes on to 
say, — " Mr. James Shepherd, who carried on the factory at North- 
ampton, and who purchased my merino wool for several years, told 



DISEASES OP SHEEP. 177 

me, that the superfine broadcloths made from my wool handled softer 
than did those from the best imported Spanish wool he could pur- 
chase; where," adds he, and there need be no better judge, "the 
merino has been bred with attention and care, the wool has not dete- 
riorated in any other country except England, and the deterioration 
there has undoubtedly been owing to the uncommon humidity of the 
climate." Here, then, is evidence sufficient to satisfy the most 
skeptical on the point of adaptation of climate and food to the pro- 
duction of the finest wool, where circumstances invite the farmer to 
choose his breed with an eye to the manufacturer as his customer ; 
and the testimony of Mr. Jarvis goes further to prove that if England 
owes the superiority of her turnip crop for coarse-woolled sheep to 
the moisture of her climate, for the same reason she can never supply 
her own manufacturers with^fine wool. 

It is not deemed necessary to gi\e the history of the introduction 
of the merino into the United States, further than to state that the 
first, a buck and two ewes from the Rambouellet flock in France, 
were sent into New York by Chancellor Livingston, then Minister 
to France. The Hon. David Humphreys, who had been minister to 
France afterwards, got in two hundred more through Portugal into 
Connecticut. These importations remained unnoticed and almost 
unknown, until the embargo of 1807 and the non-intercourse cut off 
our supply of woollen goods from England ; attention was drawn to 
the necessity of making ourselves independent of a foreign supply of 
an article as it were a necessary of life, and in 1809 and 1810 several 
thousand merinoes were sent from Spain to the United States by Mr. 
Jarvis of Vermont, and Mr. Grove of New York, and distributed 
chiefly in the northern States, but in smaller numbers as far south as 
Norfolk and Richmond. Subsequently, to wit, in 1826, there arrived 
in New York, Boston, and other ports, two thousand five hundred 
Saxony merinos. Such is the basis of the flocks now kept, of pure 
and of mixed blood, in our northern States, where, according to some 
interesting statistical accounts on the subject of sheep and wool, 
compiled in 1836, by Messrs. Benton and Barry, the average price of 
wool was per pound, in 

1827, 36 cents. 1832, 41 cents. 

1828, 40 " 1833, 52£ " 

1829, 29 " 1834, 50 " 

1830, 40£ " 1835, 57 " 

1831, 58 " 1836, 58 " 

Since then, the price has been, according to the best accounts we 
can get, in 

1838, from 45 to 47 cents. 

1839, from 45 to 60 " 

1840, from 43 to 44 " 

1843, from 25 to 30 " 



178 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 

Here maybe aptly inserted the following articles from the February 
number of the Albany " Cultivator," to assist the judgment of those 
who would decide on the best information as to the prospects for a 
remunerating price for the coarser kinds of long wool. It will be seen 
that under the influence of the present tariff, and the probability of its 
remaining for some time undisturbed, a large amount of capital is 
finding its way to employment in woollen manufactures by the esta- 
blishment of branches of it, hitherto unattempted in this country. 

" We have great pleasure in laying before our readers the follow- 
ing letter from Samuel Lawrence, Esq., of Lowell, in answer to one 
we addressed him, enclosing samples of wool from some Leicester 
sheep, owned by Mr. Howard, associate editor of the Cultivator. It 
will be seen from this letter that rapid advances are making in this 
country in the manufacture of such good^s as require long wool, such 
as is produced by the breeds of sheep known as Cotswolds, Leices- 
ter, Lincolnshires, &c. ; and that the increasing demand for this kind 
of wool affords encouragement to the breeders of these sheep, which 
they have not heretofore enjoyed. It will be seen, also, that Mr. S. 
expresses great confidence in the belief that the prospects of the wool 
grower are fully equal to those of any other branch of husbandry." 

" Lowell, January 10, 1844. 
*' Editors of the Cultivator, 

" My numerous engagements at the opening of the year have pre- 
vented an earlier reply to your respected favour of the 28th ult. 

" I have examined the two samples of wool, and am of opinion that 
they are admirably adapted to combing purposes for the manufac- 
ture of Mouslin de Laines. The staple is long, strong, and lustrous, 
qualities not desirable for felting purposes, especially the two latter. 
I judge these samples to be from Cotswold sheep, a breed which it 
is very desirable to propagate in this country, as the worsted business 
is just coming into existence. The secret of England's advance of 
all the world in the manufacture of worsted goods, lays in the fact of 
her possessing better breeds of sheep for the production of combing 
w T ools, and not from her superior skill in working them. 

" The worsted business, in its various shapes, is to be of immense im- 
portance in this country ; and it affords me sincere pleasure to be able 
to say to you that it has already been commenced in this State upon a 
liberal scale, by parties whose means and intelligence are a guaranty 
of its success. A great deal of talent and skill have been brought to 
bear upon this branch of industry ; and if I am not greatly deceived, 
the time is near when old England herself will be astonished at our 
success. A number of hundred looms on mouslines are already in 
operation, and more in progress. In addition to the works already 
projected, a company is now being formed in Boston, with a capital 
of a million of dollars, for works on mouslin de laines, &c. 

" In reply to your inquiry about the kinds and quantities of wool 
used in the Middlesex mills, I have to say that we use about a million 



DISEASES OP SHEEP 



179 



of pounds yearly, of such kinds as are considered in this country the 
choicest produced ; say full-blood Saxony, and Saxony mixed with 
Merino. We are very fastidious in the selection of our wools, both, 
as regards the blood and condition ; and, in consequence, we are in 
the habit of paying prices which many manufacturers think absurd. 

" I am clearly of the opinion that no branch of agriculture promises 
better than the culture of w T ool, and I sincerely hope more attention 
will be given to it than has been paid for the last few years. 

" Your's, Samuel Lawrence." 

According to the following table it will be seen that the aggregate 
amount of capital in 1810, in woollen manufactures, was under six- 
teen millions ; here is to be an addition, according to Mr. Lawrence, 
of one million in a single new branch of it. 



Name of State, &x. 



1. Maine 

2. New Hampshire, 

3. Massachusetts, . . 

4. Rhode Island, . . . 

5. Connecticut, 

6. Vermont, 

7. New York, 

8. New Jersey, 

9. Pennsylvania, . . 

10. Delaware, 

11. Maryland, 

12. Virginia, 

13. North Carolina, . 

14. South Carolina, . 

15. Georgia, 

10. Alabama, 

17. Mississippi, 

18. Louisiana, 

19. Tennessee, 

20. Kentucky, 

21. Ohio 

22. Indiana, 

23. Illinois, 

24. Missouri, 

25. Arkansas, 

26. Michigan, 

27. Florida 

28. Wisconsin 

29. Iowa, 

30. Dist. of Columbia 

Total 







WOOL. 






No. of 
fulling 
mills. 


No. of 
woollen 
manufac- 


Value of 
manufac- 
tured 


No. of 
persons 


Capital in- 
vested. 


tories. 


goods. 
$412,306 


employed. 




151 


24 


532 


$316,105 


152 


66 


795,784 


893 


740,^45 


207 


144 


7,062,898 


5,076 


4,179,850 


45 


41 


842,172 


901 


085,350 


157 


119 


2,494,313 


2,350 


1,931,335 


239 


95 


1,331,953 


1,450 


1,400,950 


890 


323 


3,537,337 


4,636 


3,409,349 


49 


31 


440,710 


427 


314,050 


346 


235 


2,319,001 


2,930 


1,510,5-16 


3 


2 


104,700 


83 


107,000 


39 


29 


235,900 


3S8 


117,030 


47 


41 


147,792 


222 


112,350 


1 


3 


3,900 


4 


9,800 




3 


1,000 


6 


4,300 




1 


3,000 


10 


2,000 


4 


26 


14,290 


45 


25,600 


5 


40 


151,246 


200 


138,000 


200 


130 


685,757 


935 


537,985 


24 


37 


58,867 


103 


77,954 


4 


16 


9,540 


34 


26,205 




9 


13,750 


13 


5,100 




1 


129 


1 


12,000 


16 


4 


9,734 
800 


37 


34,120 


2,585 


1,420 


20,690,999 


. 21,342 


15,705,124 



South-down. — Let those who would properly appreciate this ex- 
cellent race, banish from their thoughts the diminutive mottled original 
South-down stock of the olden time, with the idea of which the name 
is apt to be associated in the mind, and contemplate the portrait here 



180 



SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 



presented of the Buck imported in 1838, by E. Prentice, of Mount 
Hope, near Albany. 














The Sheep on the Green Grass. 



Mr. Prentice says they are " in size between the Cots wold and our 
native sheep, and will weigh in ordinary flesh from one hundred and 
sixty to two hundred pounds ; the one of which this is an engraving 1 , 
weighs one hundred and eighty pounds. They are of round, full and 
beautiful form, and of great weight for their apparent dimensions, 
possessed of extraordinary vigour and constitution, fitting them for 
great endurance of keep and exposure. In one flock of about fifty, I 
have never known an invalid for an hour, or one low in flesh, though 
their pasture has often been as short as I have ever known one, on 
which sheep have been sustained." 

Of the improved South-down, as they are at this day in great per- 
fection in England, no further description need be added than the 
following sketch by Mr. Mien, editor of the American Agriculturist, in 
an interesting account of his visit to Mr. Webb, an English farmer, 
in company with the Hon. Andrew Stevenson, then our minister to Eng- 
land, whose judgment as an agriculturist was well displayed, and 
whose least service to his country was important, if it consisted in 
selecting and bringing home some of the finest specimens of South- 
down to be found in Great Britain. 

« To give an idea of the weight of Mr. Webb's animal, the South- 
down buck selected by Mr. Rotch, though only six months old, 
weighed one hundred and fifty-two pounds on the scales; bishop 
Mead's, eighteen months old, two hundred and forty-eight pounds ; 
and Mr. Stevenson's, of the same age, two hundred and fifty-four 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 181 

pounds ; while a wether, exhibited at Cambridge on Christmas day, 
1840, weighed dressed, with the head on, two hundred pounds, aside 
from yielding twenty-eight pounds rough tallow. The average weight 
of his wethers, however, at eighteen or twenty months old, is but 
about thirty to thirty-five pounds per quarter. The bucks shear from 
nine to eleven pounds ; and the average shearing of the whole flock 
is six pounds fifteen ounces, and of a quality of wool that we thought 
better than the generality of South-downs. The fleece is close and 
compact, and, we should think, would resist rain, sleet, and snow, 
nearly as well as the best Merino." Mr. Allen adds, respecting Mr. 
Webb's sheep, — "They are very hardy, and are never housed in 
winter, but lie in the open fields, and are fed upon hay, with cut 
turnips, sugar-beets, or mangel wurtzel. In the summer they are 
taken to a poor pasture by day, at a distant part of the farm, for 
change and exercise ; and towards night are brought near home, and 
folded on vetches, clover, or rape. The lambs, after weaning, are 
turned into fair pasture, and fed about a pint each per day, of beans, 
oil-cake, or some kind of grain. Mr. Webb says he is an advocate 
for good feeding, and that a good animal always pays for it. This is 
our doctrine, and if people want South-downs to starve, they had 
better take up with the smallest of the old unimproved race." 

The editor of the Cultivator adds — " Messrs Bement and Mclntyre, 
in the vicinity of this city, have beautiful flocks of South-downs ; and 
the flock of Mr. Rotch, of Butternuts, in this State, is one of the best 
in the Union, embracing, as it does, the blood of the Duke of Rich- 
mond's, and Messrs Ellman's and Grantham's flocks, and now that 
of Mr. Webb's." 

" Mr. Rotch's sheep have proved perfectly hardy, wintering finely 
on nothing but hay ; and we have little doubt that where fine qualities 
of wool are not the great object in sheep-growing, the South-downs 
will prove to be one of the best breeds for the farmer." 

To ascertain the number and the whereabouts of the importers and 
breeders of this admirable race of sheep, unequalled for mutton, un- 
less it be to gratify the coarse taste for fat meat, the reader has but to 
consult the pages of the Cultivator, the American Agriculturist, and 
other journals, for the names of Prentice, Rotch, Bement, Mclntire, 
Bagg, and others. The prices, we believe, are from twelve to twenty 
dollars for thorough breeds. 

The Dishley or Bakewell, or new Leicester sheep. — With this breed 
all persons at all conversant with sheep-breeding must be acquainted ; 
so much so, that it is deemed only necessary to say that according to 
our observation, which has been not very limited, being among the 
earliest importers of some of the best of them from one of the best 
flocks in England, they have been thus accurately characterised : — 
" Heads clean, straight, and broad; bodies round and barrel-shaped; 
eyes fine and lively ; bones fine and small;" carried, as we think, 
by Mr. Bakewell in this last point to an extreme. An English writer 
of high character, Mr. Ellman, describes the wool of the Bakewell 
16 



182 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 

as being "long, fine, and well calculated for combing, and fleeces 
weighing about eighty-five pounds at two years old. They fatten kindly 
and early, and are the most popular sheep for the market, but are not 
very sure breeders nor good nurses." Mr. James Bagg, of Montgo- 
mery, New York, a very large importer of cattle, sheep, and hogs, 
presents a comparison and an estimate of the value of the only breeds 
to which we deem it necessary to call the attention of American 
farmers. The reader will draw his own conclusions. 

" A Saxon lamb, six months old, weighing 18 lbs. at 8 cents, $1.44 
Merino lamb, " " " 20 " " 1.60 

Bakewell, " " " 30 " " 2.40 

Cotswold, " " " 60 " " 4.80 

South-down, " " " 50 " " 4.00 

In the second, their wool. 

Saxon fleece, weighing 3 lbs. at 50 cents, $1.50 

Merino " " 3 " "40 " 1.20 

Bakewell' 4 " 5 " "30 " 1.50 

Cotswold " " 10 " "36 " 3.60 

South-down " " 5 " "40 " 2.00 

" The above, I think, will show the difference in value of the 
lambs and fleeces, but no one is to suppose that eight cents per pound 
is the value of the Cotswold or South-down lamb. They are now 
worth about twenty to twenty-five dollars each. I would not sell at 
a less price. 

" In the third place, the sheep when full grown. 

Saxon sheep, weighing 50 lbs. at 6 cents, $3.00 

Merino " " 60 " "6 " 3.60 

Bakewell " " 110 " "6 " 6.60 

South-down " " 120 " "6 " 7.20 

Cotswold " " 240 " "6 " 14.40 

" The Bakewell I consider a sheep not at all adapted to this cli- 
mate, being of a tender constitution, hard to keep, wool coarse, small 
fleece; another objection is, when the wool is a few inches long, it 
parts and leaves the back of the sheep naked ; and when exposed to 
cold storms, the animal is much injured, and many of them die. The 
Saxon and Merino I find much alike, both of a weak constitution, 
and require great attention to keep them alive, through the winter; 
they are also very bad nurses ; a great difficulty in rearing their lambs. 
I have conversed with many gentlemen who keep large flocks of 
Merino and Saxon sheep, and they all agree what I have stated re- 
specting them to be correct, but they say we must have fine wool. 

" I must say that the South-down and Cotswold sheep have ex- 
ceeded my expectation. I have seen some of the South-down wool 
manufactured into cloth fine enough for any man ; and if people get 
the pure-blooded South-down sheep, they have an animal in every 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 183 

respect that is wanted ; their mutton superior to any in the world; 
of a hardy constitution ; the wool good ; and no sheep will live on 
shorter pasture. The South-down has a hrown face and legs, or 
dark grey. 

" I consider the Cotswold sheep a hardy animal well adapted for 
this country ; but they want better keep than the South-down ; they 
make great weight, and their fleeces are heavy. I had last year 
eighteen Cotswold ewes whose fleeces averaged ten and a half 
pounds, and one buck whose fleece weighed eighteen and a quarter 
pounds. I sold a lamb to Mr. Haviland of Long Island, who had it 
shorn at one year old ; the fleece weighed twelve and a half pounds 
clean wool. I saw some of this breed of sheep slaughtered in Glou- 
cester, England, which weighed seventy-five pounds per quarter. A 
noted breeder there informed me that they often exceeded that weight. 

" Some may say that the South-down and Cotswold lambs cannot 
weigh one hundred pounds at the age stated. If any doubt it, if they 
will call on Bagg and Watt, of Montgomery, New York, they can 
see lambs of five months old much heavier. 

"Montgomery, N. F., July 21, 1840." 

Those who have rich pastures and abundant food, and whose object 
is to supply the butcher, would probably best adopt the Cotswold, 
already spoken of by Mr. Bagg, of which we find, among other in- 
ducements, great size and aptitude to fat, with more hardiness and 
better constitution than the Bakewell. The following item in the 
seventh volume of the Cultivator may prove interesting on some of 
these points : — 

" I cannot leave this place without giving you some description of 
six Cotswold wether sheep, bred and fed by Mr. Dunn, with refer- 
ence to the whole inhabitants of Albany. Mr. Kirkpatrick, who 
purchased them, says the heaviest sheep weighed two hundred and 
ten pounds, and the fat on the ribs measured five and a quarter inches. 
I saw the smallest ; the thickness of fat from my own measurement 
was four and a quarter inches ; the price twenty-two dollars each ; 
and the meat sold in the market readily for twelve and a half cents 
per pound. The fleeces from these sheep averaged about ten pounds 
each ; these are facts from the breeder and the butcher without dimi- 
nution or addition. W. H. Sotham." 

" P. S. Perhaps it will be as well to observe that these lambs were 
not thought sufficiently good to reserve for breeders, and were the 
culls of his males." 

An English paper stated that a fleece weighing twenty-three pounds 
was taken from a Cotswold ram in 1840, owned by J. Gould of Pot- 
more. 

Albany, Feb. 27, 1840. 

Later still, in 1843, a sheep of the Cotswold breed was slaughtered 
in Albany; live weight, two hundred and sixty pounds; carcass, 
dressed with head on, two hundred and ten pounds ; showing a differ- 



184 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 

ence of less than one-fifth between the live and death weight. It is 
added that the only feed of this sheep during the past summer was 
clover pasture, hurdled with others from 15th of October to 15th of 
November. From that time to his being slaughtered and exhibited, 
22d of February, he was fed, with three South-down bucks, under 
cover, with turnips, buckwheat, and clover ; one bushel of turnips 
and three quarts of buckwheat, together with two pounds of hay, 
were fed to the four daily. It is enough to ensure confidence in the 
accuracy of this statement that it appears to be from the editor of the 
Cultivator himself. 

The Lincolnshire Sheep are described by Mr. Ellman as being 
" faces white ; bones large ; legs white, thick, and rough ; carcass 
long, thin, and weak ; wool fine and long, from ten to eighteen inches, 
weighing per fleece, when killed at three years old, an average of 
about eleven pounds; flesh coarse grained ; slow feeders, calculated 
only for the richest pastures; constitutions tender." 

Mr. L. D. Cleft, of Somers, New York, had a large flock of this 
breed in 1840, and states in the Cultivator of that year that he had 
"raised in 1839 from sixty-four ewes, (chiefly ewes two and three 
years old), ninety-two lambs, and had not lost a single lamb by reason 
of exposure." That when his ewes were older, " more than half had 
twins." Mr. C. says further, in 1841 — "The present winter my 
primest wethers went to market about the first of December, twenty- 
four in number ; six of these sheep were three years old, and gave a 
total dead weight of eight hundred and seventy-nine pounds, or one 
hundred and forty-six and a half pounds per carcass, equal to thirty- 
six and a half pounds per quarter; and I am informed that one of 
these sheep gave thirty-six pounds of caul or rough fat." This breed 
is sometimes mistaken, or passed off for the Dishley or Leicester 
breed, which is more perfectly formed, of perhaps somewhat earlier 
maturity, but not so large by eight or ten pounds to the quarter. 

The Cotswold. — The same English writer, in whom we have 
already expressed our respectful confidence, treats of the Cotswold 
sheep as one of the " varieties" of the Lincolnshire, the " Treswater" 
being another, and describes the Cotswold as u in most respects re- 
sembling the parent breed, but superior; wool not so long as that of 
the original sort; mutton fine grained and full sized, capable of great 
improvement by proper crossing. Mr. Thomas Wells, of Hampnett, 
has favoured us with the following particulars on the improved con- 
dition of this excellent breed: — "The Cotswold sheep, previously to 
being crossed with the Leicester, were of large size, well woolled, and 
good sucklers, but high on the shoulders, with a hollow behind, in- 
clined to a thin fore-flank and coarseness in bone. In their improved 
state, they are rendered not only much finer in bone, but fit for market 
in half the period they were formerly, as they were not fatted until 
three or four years old ; but now they are seldom offered to a butcher 
at more than two years. Their size is not quite so large as before the 
cross, but when fat, average about the same weight, which by com- 



DISEASES OP SHEEP. 185 

mon feeding is about fourteen or sixteen stone, and will by extraor- 
dinary feeding arrive at about twenty-five or twenty-six stone. As 
yearlings they possess the striking qualification of averaging under 
good management ten or eleven stone, which is found to answer 
much better than keeping them longer. These merits, in addition to 
the great weight of combing wool they produce, has greatly increased 
their value. It is highly requisite to guard against breeding them too 
fine. If they are well bred they are equally as hardy as they were 
formerly, but if bred too fine they lose in constitution, are unable to 
support their young, produce meat of a bad quality, and not having 
a proportionate quantity of lean, their wool becomes short and too 
fine in quality, and they frequently become naked bellied, which oc- 
casions great loss in the weight of their fleece." It is this " breeding 
too fine," in other words too closely, that has impaired the constitu- 
tion of the Bakewells or Dishleys, made them bad nurses, and dimi- 
nished too much the proportion of lean meat. The true problem for 
the sheep farmer is what breed will give him one year with another 
the greatest profit to the acre. If pasturage be short, it is clear that 
a greater number of sheep of smaller size will gather more in a given 
time than a smaller number of heavier sheep ; and we believe that 
keeping in view the resources for maintaining sheep through the year, 
the safer plan is to take a breed of hardy constitution and of a size not 
so large, such as the South-down, and thus hit the happy medium ; 
and, in the general way, we have no hesitation in hazarding the 
opinion for what it is worth, that the same principle — moderate size 
and thriftiness of habit and hardiness of constitution — is the one on 
which it is most expedient for American husbandmen to act, in the 
great majority of cases, in regard not only to sheep, but to cattle, 
hogs, horses, and even poultry. 

At a meeting of the Pennith Agricultural Society in England, in 
1839, the awards of the judges were in favour of the middling sized 
sheep. At the dinner, on the health of the judges being proposed, 
Mr. Gray, the chairman, speaking on the comparative profits to the 
grazier of large and small sized sheep, made the following among 
other remarks : — 

" I dare say that the opinion of the judges with respect to sheep 
has been much censured, although I declare I have not heard any 
observations to that effect. My reasons for supposing so is this — 
that people who have not great experience in the qualities and niceties 
connected with every description of stock, are apt to look principally 
at that which fills the eye, and to form a favourable opinion of animals 
upon a large scale; and this is particularly the case with respect to 
the Leicester sheep. I have had considerable experience with sheep 
of this description, having in former times kept a flock of between 
nine hundred and one thousand Leicester ewes, and therefore I have 
some title to speak upon the subject. I say, then, that the largest 
sheep are the least profitable. If it can be ascertained, as I believe 
it has been, that you can feed on an acre of land a greater number of 
16* 



186 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 

pounds of mutton in carcases of from eighteen to twenty pounds per 
quarter than in carcases of from twenty -eight to thirty pounds, then 
every one must agree that the advantages are on the side of the smaller 
carcases. The reason of this is obvious. In times of drought and 
scarcity, a small animal can collect as much food as a larger one, and 
having a smaller carcass, it derives much more advantage from it. 
While, therefore, the larger animal is losing in condition, the smaller 
one, if not improving, remains stationary ; and when the period arrives 
at which abundance of food can be obtained, it almost immediately 
reassumes its position, and is fit to go to the market sooner than the 
larger animal. I do not presume to offer anything like dictation to 
this meeting, but I am confident that those gentlemen present, who 
have had experience on this subject, will bear me out in saying that 
there are advantages in breeding the description of stock to which I 
have been referring, which do not attach to animals of better appear- 
ance and larger size." 

Nevertheless, we should say, that if the farmer have at command 
a superabundance of grass and corn, which it would be his interest 
to convert into meat, that its value may be more condensed and por- 
table, then the most economical machine or animal is that one which 
above all will, as a machine, soonest convert that superabundance of 
food into meat of a kind that will bring the best return in the market. 

In all ages, among nations in any degree removed from the lowest 
stage of barbarism, a census in some form has been deemed neces- 
sary to an understanding of their condition, resources, and means of 
defence ; and the fullness and accuracy of these periodical returns 
may be said in some sort to mark the progress of political science 
and civil polity. As yet the census of the United States is altogether 
defective in many particulars connected with important questions of 
political economy, and there is too much reason to believe that the 
actual returns have been made with a degree of carelessness and want 
of uniformity sufficient to create distrust in the results as they have 
been published. Yet such as it is, it forms the most reliable means 
of calculation on questions like the one in hand. We have, it seems, 
no return, for instance, (as we happen to have had occasion to observe) 
either of the number of mules or of the turnip crop in the United States. 
In the following table we have embraced the returns of hay and of 
potatoes, as these in the northern States constitute the chief food of 
sheep, as before said, for four or five months in the year. We have 
added to the table, as nearly as could well be ascertained, the number 
of acres to a sheep in the several States and territories ; and the reader 
will be struck with the fact, that while fine wool may be transported 
at such a trifling expense in proportion to its value, they should be in 
such a very large proportion located very near to the wool market, 
and on land which bears the highest price, while the natural distribu- 
tion would appear to be to rear the fine wool on the cheap table-lands 
of the mountains, and the limitless prairies of the west. It has been 
ascertained that wool may be sent from the prairies of Illinois to 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

Lowell, Massachusetts, inland, for only two dollars twelve and a half 
cents per hundred pounds, or forty-two dollars and lifty cents per 
ton. 

Distribution of sheep and wool, hay and potatoes, in the United 
States, according to the census of 1840, with a calculation of the 
number of sheep to the acre, in each of the States and Territories : — 



Name of State, &c. 



3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 

n. 

13. 
14. 
15. 
1(5. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
20. 
20. 



Maine, 

New Hampshire, 
Massachusetts, . 
Rhode Island, . . 
Connecticut, . . . 

Vermont, 

New York, 
New Jersey, . . . 
Pennsylvania, . 

Delaware, 

Mary land, 

Virginia, 

North Carolina, 
South Carolina, 

Georgia, 

Alabama, 

Mississippi, • • • 

Louisiana, 

Tennessee, 

Kentucky, 

Ohio, 

Indiana, 

Illinois, 

Missouri, 

Arkansas, 

Michigan, 

Florida, 

Wisconsin, 

Iowa, 

Disl. of Columbia 



Sheep. 



Total, 



649,264 

617,390 

378,226 

90,146 

403,462 

1,(181,819 

5,118,777 

219,285 

1,767,620 

39,247 

257,922 

1,293,772 

538,279 

232,981 

267,107 

163,243 

128,367 

98,072 

741,593 

1,008,240 

2,028,401 

675,982 

395,672 

348,018 

42,151 

99,618 

7,198 

3,462 

15,354 

706 



Pounds of 
wool. 



19,311.374 



1,465,551 

1,260,517 

941,906 

183,830 

889,870 

3,699,235 

9,845,295 

397,207 

3,048,564 

64,404 

488,201 

2,538,374 

625,044 

299,170 

371,303 

220,353 

175,196 

49,283 

1,01:0,332 

1,786.847 

3,685,315 

1,237,919 

650,007 

562,265 

64,943 

153,275 

7,285 

6,777 

23,039 

707 



Tons of 
hay. 



35.802,114 



691,358 

496,107 

569,395 

63,449 

426,704 

836. 739 

3,127,047 

334^61 

1,311.643 

22,483 

106,6871 

364,708* 

101,369 

24,618 

16,969a 

12,718 

171 

24,651 

31,233 

88,306 

1,022,037 

178,029 

164.932 

49,033 

586 

130,805 

1,197 

30,938 

17,953 

1,331 



Bushels of 
potatoes. 



10,248,108^ 



10,392,280 

6,206,606 

5,385,652 

911,973 

3,414,238 

8,869,751 

30,123,614 

2,072,069 

9,535,663 

200,712 

1.036,433 

2,944,660 

2,609.239 

2,698,313 

1,291,366 

1,708,356 

1,630,100 

834,341 

1,904,370 

1,055,085 

5,805,021 

1,525,794 

2,025,520 

783,768 

293.608 

2,109,205 

264,617 

419,608 

234,663 

12,035 



108,298,060 



No. of 

acres to 
a sheep. 

50 

10 

12 

10 

10 

3* 

2* 

24 

24 

33* 

33* 

33* 

50 

100 

143 

240 

250 

50 

50 

25 

10 

33* 

100 

125 

1,000 

250 

5,000 

14,285 

2 500 

100 



Since writing thus far, an opportunity has been embraced to obtain 
some information as to the resources of Western Virginia and the 
Carolinas. We were informed by a member of congress from Pittsyl- 
vania county that his flock of two hundred go through the winter one 
year with another at a cost for food of not exceeding ten dollars for the 
whole flock. It was only yesterday, 1st of February, that, in conver- 
sation with Mr. J. Wadsworth, of Geneseo, President of the New 
York State Agricultural Society, eminent for his intelligence and en- 
terprise, as an American farmer of great opulence and influence, we 
learned that coarse wool, under influences of recent existence, is 
getting into greater demand. He observed that there were practical 
farmers in New York, though he was not prepared to say it could be 
realised, who contended that they could pursue sheep husbandry 
profitably on land costing thirty dollars the acre. 



188 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 

How different are the circumstances of sheep husbandry in the 
North, may be estimated by the following account of his treatment 
of his flock, by Mr. Leonard Jarvis, of Claremont, New Hampshire, 
a sheep breeder of great intelligence and experience, owner of four 
distinct families of fine-woolled sheep. He says, in a letter to the 
Rev. Mr. Coleman, "I annually commence with dry fodder by the 
middle <f November, and discontinue by the 5th of May, (nearly six 
months) ; generally, however, for the first and last fifteen days, giving 
no hay, unless the ground should be covered, but feeding about half 
a gill of Indian corn to each sheep twice a day. As far as my ex- 
perience extends, a ton of good hay will suffice for ten sheep with the 
above quantity of grain ; they are fed from racks in the yard, and 
have sheds to retire to at will ; I have fed under cover, but believe 
that it has a tendency to diminish the appetite and weaken the con- 
stitution. They are kept in separate yards, in number from fifty to 
one hundred, taking care to keep those of about the same degree of 
strength to themselves, and have running water through; when the 
ground is covered with snow, I think they do well without it. I 
allow about four bushels of salt to the hundred sheep, the greater part 
of which is consumed when the sheep are at grass. My bucks run 
with the ewes from the 1st to the 10th of December, allowing three 
to one hundred. The number of lambs reared depends much upon 
the season. Sixty lambs to the hundred ewes may be the average 
from flocks of quality like mine; from coarser flocks the return is 
greater. The ewes are not permitted to receive the buck until after 
they are two years old ; and I prefer bucks from two years old to 
four." 

We must here close this introduction to the work on the " diseases 
of sheep" with the following correspondence, opened on the part of 
the editor, in the hope of obtaining some reliable information as to 
the advantages held out for the growth of sheep and the manufacture 
of woollen goods in the districts of country which have been strangely 
overlooked since facilities were created and the rage inspired for 
emigrating to the far west! leaving behind immense tracts of cheap 
land, abounding in water-power, and adapted to the growth of every- 
thing conducive to successful sheep husbandry; in truth, wanting 
nothing but capital and industry. In presenting Mr. Clingman's 
letter, we may express the hope that its interesting character, and the 
freshness of the country it opens to our view, will atone to the reader 
for the length and dryness of the route by which he has been led 
to it. 

Washington, 30th January, 1844. 
Hon. T. L. Clingman, 

Dear Sir,— I have lately had occasion, as a leisure hour has offered, to bestow some 

consideration on the sheep husbandry of the United States; in the course of which it 

has occurred to me that the people of Virginia and North Carolina, Kentucky and 

Tennessee, have not availed themselves to the extent that they might probably do 

of that source of reward for labour and capital. It seems to me that the middle or 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 189 

hilly, and the mountainous portions of those States and of Maryland, must be pecu- 
liarly adapted to the constitution of an animal which appears to have a natural 
appetency for rolling and elevated pastures. Or is it that the mountains in Yancey 
county for instance, are almost exclusively covered with rocks and timber or wood, 
affording no scope either for the plough or for grazing? Its elevation of some thou- 
sand feet above the sea secures it, without doubt, against the autumnal diseases of 
the tide-water country. Is it that the price of the land there forbids investment in it 
with a view to such employment of capital ? Or why is it that the swarms of hardy 
yeomanry that annually migrate from the North should not settle down in districts 
described by the latest and ablest geographical authority, Darby, as being " highly 
salubrious and well watered," instead of wending their weary way to regions less 
blessed with health, and so remote from the comforts of denser populations? 

If time will allow you, Sir, to answer according to your knowledge and observa- 
tion how far my impressions are correct, as to the resources of North Carolina in the 
particulars to which I have adverted, you will much oblige me ; and the earlier you 
can favour me with an answer, the more will the kindness be esteemed, by 

Yours, with great respect, . 

J. S. SKINNER. 

House of Representatives, Feb. 3, 1844. 

Dear Sir, — Your favour of the 30th ultimo was received a day or two since, and I 
now avail myself of the very first opportunity to answer it. I do so most cheerfully, 
because, in the first place, I am happy to have it in my power to gratify in any man- 
ner one who has done so much as yourself to diffuse correct information on subjects 
most important to the agriculture of the country; and, secondly, because I feel a 
deep interest in the subject to which your inquiries are directed. 

You state that you have directed some attention to the sheep husbandry of the 
United States, in the course of which it has occurred to you that the people of the 
mountain regions of North Carolina, and some of the other southern States, have 
not availed themselves sufficiently of their natural advantages for the production of 
sheep. Being myself well acquainted with the western section of North Carolina, I 
may perhaps be able to give you most of the information you desire. As you have 
directed several of your inquiries to the county of Yancey, (I presume from the fact, 
well known to you, that it contains the highest mountains in any of the United 
States), I will, in the first place, turn my attention to that county. First, as to its 
elevation. Dr. Mitchell, of our University, ascertained that the bed of Tow river, 
the largest stream in the county, and at a ford near its centre, was about twenty-two 
hundred feet above the level of the ocean. Burnsville, the seat of the court-house, he 
found to be between two thousand eight hundred and two thousand nine hundred 
feet above it. The general level of the country is, of course, much above this eleva- 
tion. In fact, a number of the mountain summits rise above the height of six thou- 
sand feet. The climate is delightfully cool during the summer; in fact there are very 
few places in the county where the thermometer rises above eighty degrees on the 
hottest day. An intelligent gentleman who passed a summer in the northern part 
of the county (rather the more elevated portion of it) informed me that the thermo- 
meter did not rise on the hottest days above seventy-six degrees. 

You ask, in the next place, if the surface of the ground is so much covered with 
rocks as to render it unfit for pasture? The reverse is the fact; no portion of the 
county that I have passed over is too rocky for cultivation ; and in many sections 
of the county one may travel miles without seeing a single stone. It is only about 



190 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 

the tops of the higher mountains that rocky precipices are to be found. A large por- 
tion of the surface of the county is a sort of elevated table-land, undulating, but 
seldom too broken for cultivation. Even as one ascends the higher mountains, he 
will find occasionally on their sides flats of level land containing several hundred 
acres in a body. The top of the Roan (the highest mountain in the county except 
the Black) is covered by a prairie for ten miles, which affords a rich pasture during 
the greater part of the year. The ascent to it is so gradual that persons ride to the 
top on horseback from almost any direction. The same may be said of many of the 
other mountains. The soil of the county generally is uncommonly fertile, producing 
with tolerable cultivation abundant crops. What seems extraordinary to a stranger 
is the fact that the soil becomes richer as he ascends the mountains. The sides of the 
Roan, the Black, the Bald, and others, at an elevation even of five or six thousand 
feet above the sea, are covered with a deep rich vegetable mould, so soft that a horse 
in dry weather often sinks to the fetlock. The fact that the soil is frequently more 
fertile as one ascends is, I presume, attributable to the circumstance that the higher 
portions are more commonly covered with clouds; and the vegetable matter being 
thus kept in a cool moist state while decaying, is incorporated to a greater degree 
with the surface of the earth, just as it is usually found that the north side of a hill 
is richer than the portion most exposed to the action of the sun's rays. The sidea 
of the mountains, the timber being generally large, with little undergrowth and 
brushwood, are peculiarly fitted for pasture grounds, and the vegetation is in many 
places as luxuriant as it is in the rich savanna of the low country. 

The soil of every part of the county is not only favourable to the production of 
grain, but is peculiarly fitted for grasses. Timothy is supposed to make the largest 
yield, two tons of hay being easily produced on an acre, but herds-grass, or red-top, 
and clover succeed equally well ; blue grass has not been much tried, but is said to do 
remarkably well. A friend showed me several spears which he informed me were 
produced in the northern part of the county, and which by measurement were found 
to exceed seventy inches in length. Oats, rye, potatoes, turnips, &c, are produced 
in the greatest abundance. 

With respect to the prices of land, I can assure you that large bodies of uncleared 
rich land, most of which might be cultivated, have been sold at prices varying from 
twenty-five cents to fifty cents per acre. Any quantity of land favourable for sheep- 
walks might be procured in any section of the county at prices varying from one to 
ten dollars per acre. 

The few sheep that exist in the county thrive remarkably well, and are sometimes 
permitted to run at large during the winter without being fed and without suffering.. 
As the number kept by any individual is not large enough to justify the employment 
of a shepherd to take care of them, they are not unfrequently destroyed by vicious 
dogs, and more rarely by wolves, which have not yet been entirely exterminated. 

I have been somewhat prolix in my observations on this county, because some of 
your inquiries were directed particularly to it, and because most of what I have said 
of Yancey is true of the other counties west of the Blue Ridge. Haywood has about 
the same elevation and climate as Yancy. The mountains are rather more steep, 
and the valleys somewhat broader; the soil generally not quite so deep, but very 
productive, especially in grasses. In some sections of the county, however, the soil 
is equal to the best I have seen. 

Buncombe and Henderson are rather less elevated ; Ashville and Hendersonville, 
the county towns, being each about two thousand two hundred feet above the Bea. 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 191 

The climate is much the same, but a very little warmer. The more broken portions 
of these counties resemble much the mountainous parts of Yancey and Haywood, 
but they contain much more level land. Indeed the greater portion of Henderson is 
quite level. It contains much swamp land, which, when cleared, with very little if 
any drainage, produces very fine crops of herds-grass. Portions of Macon and Chero- 
kee counties are quite as favourable, both as to climate and soil, as those above 
described. I would advert particularly to the Valley of the Nantahalah, in Macon 
and of Cheoh, in Cherokee. In either, for a comparatively trifling price, some ten 
or fifteen miles square could be procured, all of which would be rich, and the major 
part sufficiently level for cultivation, and especially fitted, as their natural meadows 
indicate, for the production of grass. 

In conclusion, 1 may say, that as far as my limited knowledge of such matters 
authorizes me to speak, I am satisfied that there is no region that is more favourable 
to the production of sheep than much of the country I have described. It is every- 
where healthy and well watered. I may add, too, that there is water-power enough 
in the different counties composing my congressional district to move more machi- 
nery than human labour can ever place there — enough perhaps to move all now 
existing in the Union. It is also a rich mineral region. The gold mines are worked 
now to a considerable extent. The best ores of iron are found in great abundance in 
many places; copper, lead, and other valuable minerals exist. That must one day 
become the great manufacturing region of the South. I doubt if capital could be 
used more advantageously in any part of the Union than in that section. 

For a number of years past the value of the live stock (as ascertained from books 
of the Turnpike Company) that is driven through Buncombe county, is from two to 
three millions of dollars. Most of this stock comes from Kentucky and Ohio, and 
when it has reached Asheville it has travelled half its journey to the more distant 
parts of the Southern market, viz., Charleston and Savannah. The citizens of my 
district, therefore, can get their live stock into the planting States south of us at one- 
half the expense which those of Kentucky and Ohio are obliged to incur. Not only 
sheep, but hogs, horses, mules, and horned cattle can be produced in many portions 
of my district as cheaply as in those two States. This must ere long become the 
great manufacturing region of the South, &c. 

I have thus, sir, hastily endeavoured to comply with your request, because you 
state that you would like to have the information at once. Should you find my sketch 
of the region a very unsatisfactory and imperfect one, I hope you will do me the 
favour to remember that the desk of a member during a debate is not the most favour- 
able position for writing an essay. 

With very great respect, yours, 

i _' • T. L. CLINGMAN. 

J. S. Skinner, Esq. 

As to the usual weight of the carcass of the South-down and of the 
fleece, as well as of the value of the Cotswold compared with that of 
the Merino, it may be useful to state that, according to the most recent 
information to be fully relied on, Mr. Bement's ewes, (near Albany, 
New York), about seventy-five in number, averaged last year three 
and a half pounds washed wool per head — Mr. Mclntire's* about the 
same. The South-down wool sold at Albany last year at twenty- 
eight to thirty cents per pound, where at the same time Merino wool 
sold for thirty-four to thirty-six. 



192 



SHEEP HUSBANDRY 



The carcass of the improved South-down, fatted, may be put down 
at eighteen to twenty-five pounds the quarter. Mr. Mclntire killed, 
as before stated, a cross-breed Cots wold and South-down wether last 
year, that weighed, dressed, with the head on, two hundred and ten 
pounds. He sold one very recently that weighed about one hundred 
and seventy-five pounds. Mr. Bement , s price for fourteen — all he 
has for sale — South-down ewes, a year old this spring, which have 
not been tupped, is twelve dollars a head ; and a buck to accompany 
them at the same price. Mr. Mclntire's price for ten ewes that will 
have lambs in April, is seventeen dollars a head, and will put in a 
good buck at same price. This statement is made for the benefit of 
readers not residing in the neighbourhood of flocks of sheep of this 
kind. The demand for all kinds of improved sheep is increasing, 
and will increase in the south-west. 




ON THE 



DISEASES OF SHEEP 



This has been a sadly neglected branch of veterinary inquiry and 
practice. The nature and treatment of the diseases of sheep form 
little or no part of the instruction given in some of our veterinary 
schools, and seldom come under the cognizance of the surgeon after- 
wards. The shepherd undertakes the treatment of foot-rot, and scab, 
and hoove; and with regard to the other maladies to which this 
animal is subject, they are either suffered to take their course, or, if a 
veterinary practitioner is ever employed, it is when the disease is 
firmly established, or the whole flock infected, and medical aid is 
fruitless. This is much to be lamented, and very absurd ; for although 
an individual sheep may not be worth much, yet a numerous flock 
forms no inconsiderable portion of the farmer's wealth, and the fre- 
quent mortality among these animals is a very serious loss to him. 

The internal structure of the sheep so nearly resembles that of the 
ox, that I will content myself with referring to the anatomy of the ox, 
as described in the early part of this work. The diseases of both have 
a very great resemblance in their nature and cause, and progress, and 
medical treatment. The same drugs are administered to 'both. There 
cannot be a better purgative for sheep than Epsom salts : there is no 
better fever medicine than the digitalis, emetic tartar, and nitre. The 
principal difference is in the quantity to be administered ; a sixth or 
eighth part of the usual dose for cattle will be sufficient for the sheep. 
The quantity of blood taken will depend on the size of the animal 
and the nature of the disease. Four ounces would be a fair average 
bleeding from a lamb, and a pint from a full-grown sheep. Shepherds 
are apt to bleed from the eye-vein ; but the blood generally flows 
slowly, and, after all, the proper quantity will not always be obtained. 
The best place for bleeding is from the jugular, as in cattle. A liga- 
ture should be tied round the neck, and then the vein will rise so 
evidently that it cannot possibly be mistaken. The vein should be 
opened with the lancet commonly used for the human being: the 
orifice should be large, and the blood obtained as quickly as possible. 

17 (193) 



194 THE LAMBING SEASON. 

SECTION I. 

THE LAMBING SEASON. 

The ewe goes with lamb five months. The general time of yean- 
ing is about the end of March, but in some of the western counties, 
and particularly in Dorsetshire, by which the metropolis and many 
of the towns in the west are principally supplied with house-lamb, it 
is so contrived that the lambs shall be dropped in the middle or even 
the beginning of February. With the best care a great deal of danger 
attends this early lambing, and even at a later period a few cold nights 
are fatal to many of the lambs. There is nothing that requires more 
reformation than the treatment both of the ewe and the lamb at the 
time of yeaning. 

During the time of gestation more attention is required than is 
generally paid. To enable the ewe to produce her lamb with com- 
parative safety, she should not be too well fed. One of the most 
prevalent causes of puerperal fever, or dropping after calving, in the 
cow, is her too high condition. It is more particularly so with the 
ewe ; and there are few things that the farmer should be more careful 
about than that the fair, but not unusual of forced, condition of the 
animal is preserved. A week or two before the time, a little better 
keep may be useful in order to give them sufficient strength for the 
lambing. It is a kind of middle course which the farmer has to pur- 
sue, and the path is not very difficult to trace : too high condition will 
dispose to fever; on the other hand, with too poor keep the ewe will 
not have sufficient strength to go through the process safely, nor will 
she have milk enough for the lambs. If the dam has not sufficient 
support previously, the lamb will be weakly when it is dropped, and 
will not thrive well afterwards. 

When the time of yeaning approaches, a little care may prevent a 
very great loss to the farmer. The ewes should be brought as nearly 
home as possible. They should be sheltered from the wind, if it be 
only by a high and thick hedge ; but a kind of shed, however rudely 
constructed, would abundantly pay the expense of building it. At 
night, particularly, they should be folded in some sheltered place. 

At the period of lambing the shepherd should be far more attentive 
than he is frequently found to be, and especially than he is if the pelt 
of the dead lamb is absurdly made his perquisite. If the master's 
loss is the servant's gain, it will not be surprising if casualties occur. 
A reward, increasing in proportion to the number of ewes and lambs 
saved, would do more than any other thing to save both the dam and 
her offspring. The care of the farmer or lamber will vary a great 
deal according to the period of the year and the state of the weather. 
In the early lambing the greatest losses are at the beginning : they 
arise principally from cold. In March or April the latter part of the 



THE LAMBING SEASON. 195 

lambing season is most dangerous, for there is more abundant keep, 
and more tendency to inflammation. 

The clatiing of the ewes is a very useful practice now. They are 
thrown, and a portion of the wool is removed from their tails and 
udders. The sticking together of the wool from the purging to which 
the ewe is often subject in the early part of the spring, when the grass 
is fresh, has lost many a lamb. When the udders are thus cleaned, 
the lamber will more easily perceive the stain on the part, which, and 
which alone, will sometimes tell him whether the ewe has yeaned : 
for it is no uncommon thing for a young ewe to desert her lamb, and 
be found grazing with the rest of the flock as unconcernedly as if no- 
thing had happened. 

An experienced lamber will almost always tell when the ewe is 
about to yean. If he finds her soon afterwards taken with labour 
pains, and they continue to succeed each other regularly, and she 
remains lying down, he will take great care not to disturb her ; but 
if a couple of hours pass, and the lamb is not produced, he carefully 
examines her. If the nose and the tips of the toes have presented 
themselves, and the lamb seems to be in a proper position, but the 
head is large, or the passage is narrow, he leaves her again for an- 
other hour ; but if there is evidently a false presentation, he introduces 
one or two fingers, or his hand, well guarded with oil, puts the young 
one in the proper position, and nature speedily effects the rest. 

The principal art of the lamber is to know when he should inter- 
fere. In every case of false presentation his help should be ready 
and immediate ; but otherwise he should very rarely meddle with the 
ewe, except the mother is nearly exhausted, or the life of the young 
one appears to be in danger. One moment's observation will discover 
the state of the mother; and the degree of protrusion of the tongue 
of the young one, and its colour, will not often deceive with regard 
to him. When the tongue hangs far from the mouth, and is getting 
livid or black, it is high time for the lamber to interfere. 

The lamber should use as little violence as possible ; but then he 
should recollect that the ewe will often bear a great deal of force be- 
ing applied without the slightest injury to her, and sometimes with 
no great danger to the little one. The exhausted state of the one or 
the other will regulate the degree of force. When there is much ex- 
haustion, no time is to be lost, and some strength should be applied 
in the extrication of the lamb. 

The state of the weather, too, will somewhat regulate this. In 
cold weather more time may he allowed. The process of parturition 
is then slower. In warm weather there is more tendency to fever, 
and the ewe should not be suffered to exhaust herself too much. 

Unnatural presentations are often very awkward things to have to 
do with. The ewe should be driven into the pound, and after having 
rested a few minutes, some of the fingers, or the hand, if it is small, 
should be introduced into the vagina. If only one leg presents, and 
the shoulder thus forms an obstruction, the other leg will generally 



196 THE LAMBING SEASON. 

be easily laid hold of and brought down. If the neck is bent, and 
the crown of the head presents itself, it may be pushed back, and the 
two fore-paws brought into the passage, and then the muzzle will 
naturally follow. If the fetus lies sideways, the cord and the posi- 
tion of the legs will enable the shepherd to distinguish between the 
spine and the belly. The turning is sometimes a difficult thing ; but 
practice will often give the lamber a great deal of cleverness in this 
operation. 

In extreme cases, and when the lamb is evidently dead, it may be 
necessary to introduce a blunt-pointed knife into the uterus, and cut 
the little animal to pieces. The greatest care must be taken that the 
mother is not wounded, for that would produce inevitable «death. 
When the lamb has been thus taken away piecemeal, a little physic — 
an ounce of Epsom salts, with a few grains of ginger — should be 
given to the mother, who should then be left undisturbed for several 
hours. 

The ewe, and especially if she was in high condition, is occasion- 
ally subject to after-pains. Some of the country-people call it heaving. 
It continues many hours, and sometimes exhausts and destroys the 
animal. It is particularly dangerous if she has been too well kept, 
and much force has been used in extracting the lamb. Twenty drops 
of laudanum should be given in a little gruel, and repeated every se- 
cond hour until the pains abate. It will always be prudent to bleed 
the ewe if she is not better soon after the second dose of the lauda- 
num. 

The womb is sometimes forced out of the orifice when great force 
has been used in extracting the lamb. It must, if necessary, be 
cleaned with warm water, and carefully returned by a person with a 
small hand. Gentle and continued pressure will effect this much 
sooner and safer than the application of the greatest force. It will, 
however, again protrude if a couple of stitches with tolerably strong 
twine are not passed through the lips of the orifice. If the womb is 
thus returned before it has been much bruised or inflamed by hanging 
out, there will be little danger to the mother, and she may suckle her 
lamb as usual. When she has accomplished that, she should be 
fattened, for the same accident would almost certainly happen at her 
next parturition. 

Attention should now be paid to the lamb, and it requires it even 
more than the mother. It is want of care that causes the loss of more 
than four-fifths of the dead lambs. The principal evil is exposure to 
cold. If the weather is severe, great numbers of lambs are often lost 
in a single night. A few hurdles with straw, or a warm quick hedge, 
or a shed for them to go into, would save the greater part of them. 
The farmer needs but to use a little observation in order to be con- 
vinced how eagerly the ewes and the lambs seek that shelter, and 
how safe they are compared with others that are exposed. Some 
breeds are more hardy than others, but the hardiest of them will not 
endure absurd and cruel neglect and exposure. Let the farmer think 



THE LAMBING SEASON. 197 

of the sudden change from the warmth of the mother's womb to the 
driving sleet, and the cold wet ground : he will not wonder that so 
many of his lambs are palsied and starved to death. 

The lambs are not quite out of danger when a day or two has 
passed after they have dropped. They live for the first week or fort- 
night on the mother's milk, and then begin to imitate their parent 
and graze a little ; indeed they have not their teeth up to enable them 
to graze at first. They* should not be put on too good pasture at this 
early period, for the change of food is often dangerous. A lamb of a 
fortnight old will often sicken suddenly, refuse the teat, cease to 
ruminate, swell, heave, and die, in less than twenty-four hours. On 
being examined, the stomach will sometimes be found enormously 
distended, at other times there will be little food in it, but there always 
is a great deal of bile in the upper intestines, with inflammation there, 
the evident cause of death, and produced by the change of food. Those 
who die at this early period are often called gall-lambs, from the great 
quantity of bile found in their intestines. When, at three or four 
months old, the lamb is perfectly weaned, he is subject to a similar 
complaint, and from a similar cause. The lamb should certainly have 
better pasture when he is deprived of his mother's milk, but the 
change should not be sudden and violent. 

Physic will evidently be required here, such as Epsom salts in 
doses of half an ounce every second or third day; and if there is 
much swelling, the stomach-pump will be used with advantage, both 
in extricating the gas, and in injecting warm water into the stomach 
with an intention either to cause vomiting or to wash out the contents 
of the stomach. 

The operation of castration is a very simple one in the sheep, and 
yet is often attended with danger, sometimes resulting from the un- 
skilfulness of the operator, and at other times from some unfriendly 
state of the atmosphere. I have known on the same farm, and the 
same gelder being employed, that in one year not a lamb has been 
lost, and in the following year several scores. Generally speaking, 
however, the fatal result is to be attributed to bad management. The 
younger the lambs are the better, provided they are not very weak. 
From ten days to a fortnight seems to be the most proper time, or, I 
may say, as soon as the testicles can be laid hold of. I would advise 
the farmer never to set apart a day when the whole or the greater 
part of his male lambs are to undergo the operation, for many of them 
will then be too old, and he will assuredly lose some of them. He 
should take them as soon as they are ready, although there may be 
only a few at a time. 

The lamb being well secured, the scrotum or bag is to be grasped 
in one hand high up, and the testicles pushed down as low as possi- 
ble : two incisions are then to be made across the bag at the bottom 
of it, and the testicles forced out. The gelder now often takes the 
stones between his teeth, and bites the cord asunder. This is a nasty 
and a cruel way of proceeding. The better way is to draw the testi- 
17* 



198 DISEASES OF YOUNG LAMBS. 

cles down an inch or more from the scrotum, and then to cut through 
the cord close to the scrotum with a knife that is not very sharp. 
Scarcely a drop of blood follows when the cord is thus separated ; 
the end of the cord retracts into the bag, and there is not half the 
danger of inflammation which there is when the cord is gnawed and 
torn by the teeth. 

Except the lambs are very weakly, and the ewes much exhausted 
and emaciated, it will not be requisite to give any medicine after 
yeaning. In the great majority of cases the animals will do a* great 
deal better without it. Should, however, tonic medicine be necessary, 
I know nothing better than the following: — 

RECIPE (No. 1). 

Take gentian root, powdered, one drachm ; caraway powder, half a drachm ; tinc- 
ture of caraway, ten drops. Give in a quarter of a pint of thick gruel. 

If the ewes will not feed well at all, they should be forced with 
good gruel, and the best is made of equal parts of oat and linseed 
meal. 



SECTION II. 

THE DISEASES OF YOUNG LAMBS. 

These are numerous, and many of them dangerous; some belong- 
ing exclusively to the period which I have been describing, and others 
often occurring- when the animals get a little older. 

COAGULATION OF THE MILK. 

I have spoken of this when treating of the diseases of calves. The 
lamb is, if possible, more subject to this curdling of the milk than 
the calf is, and it carries off the finest and best of the flock. The 
farmer likes to see his lambs growing fast; but it is possible to make 
more haste than good speed. The lamb may have excess of nutri- 
ment, and particularly of its mother's milk. When a lamb thrives at 
an extraordinary rate, the bag of the mother should be examined, and 
if it is too large and full, it will be prudent to milk away daily a little 
of its contents ; otherwise the yet weak stomach of the young animal 
may have more coagulated milk in it than it can digest. All the milk 
that is swallowed by the young lamb coagulates in the stomach, and 
if it accumulates too fast, the stomach will become perfectly choked 
with it, and the lamb will be destroyed. Two pounds of curdled milk 
have been found in the stomach of a lamb. When a thriving lamb, 
with a healthy mother having a full bag, begins all at once to be dull, 
and stands panting and distressed, and can scarcely be induced to 
move, and is considerably swelled, it is probably from this cause. 

In this disease there is often apparent purging of a light colour, 



DIARRH<EA. 199 

which is in fact the whey passing off whilst the curd accumulates 
and produces obstinate constipation. 

The first thing to be done is to administer an alkali, to dissolve 
the mass, such as magnesia, in doses of half an ounce twice a day ; 
after which two to four drachms of Epsom salts, with a little ginger, 
dissolved in warm water, and the warm water often repeated, if ne- 
cessary, by means of the stomach-pump. The farmer with a valuable 
flock of sheep will find the stomach-pump as useful for them as for 
cattle. When the bowels have thus been opened, and the curdled 
milk has in some measure passed off, the stomach may be strength- 
ened by occasional doses of the Tonic Drink for Cattle (No. 32, p. 
81). The ewe and lamb should then be turned into scantier pasture. 

DIARRH(EA. 

There is not a more destructive disease among young lambs than 
this. It frequently attacks them when they are not more than a day 
old, and carries them off in the course ot another day. Oftener it does 
not appear until they are nearly a week old, and the lambs have not 
then a much better chance : but if they are two or three months old, 
and have gained a little strength, they may, perhaps, weather the 
disease. The causes are various, but not always difficult to discover: 
they are generally referrible to the neglect and mismanagement of the 
farmer. It may be the consequence of absurd and cruel exposure to 
cold. For sheep generally, and more particularly for lambs, I once 
more repeat it, and I would impress it on the mind of the farmer and 
the practitioner, shelter and comfort are the first and grand things to 
be considered. I do not mean confinement in a close and ill-ventilated 
place, but that defence from the wind and snow which it would cost 
the farmer little to raise, and for which he would be amply paid in 
one season. If it probably arises from cold, the remedy is plain — 
better shelter, and, for a few days, housing. 

It is sometimes attributable to want of proper support : the ewe, if 
it is her first lamb, may have deserted it, or she may have little milk 
to give it ; and the combined influence of starvation and cold produces 
diarrhoea sooner than anything else.* Warmth and new cow's milk 
are the best remedies. 

Not unfrequently the mother's milk seems to disagree with the 
lamb. It is naturally aperient. It may occasionally be too much so. 
If her teats are full, and she evidently has plenty of milk, this will 
probably be the case. She should be fed on dry meat for a day or 
two, or should be turned out only during the day, and housed at night, 

* [Mr. S. W. Jewett, of Weybridge, Vermont, says — "It is generally caused by 
eating raw or early cut hay. The best method to cure or prevent is to give them 
daily a few messes of wheat in the sheaf; a regular quantity of salt at all times. If 
it occurs in the winter, steep, in brine, ripe hay in the seed; wheat chaff is good, as 
is a small quantity of oats, and a few pine or hemlock-tops. Keep them a few days 
on ripe hay, or corn fodder.— S.J 



200 DISEASES OF YOUNG LAMBS. 

when she should be allowed a little hay. While the food is altered 
the bowels should be well cleansed. There may be something amiss 
about the ewe, which causes the milk to be thus purgative and un- 
wholesome. The best purgative for sheep is the following : — 

RECIPE (No. 2). 
Purging Drink for Sheep.— Take Epsom salts, two ounces ; powdered caraways, a 
quarte'r of an ounce; warm thin gruel sufficient to dissolve the salts. 

This being given to the mother will likewise be of service to the 
lamb, by helping to carry off any acidities or crudities from the sto- 
mach or bowels. 

In a disease so fatal, and which runs its course so rapidly, no time 
is to be lost, and therefore astringent medicine should be administer- 
ed to the lamb as speedily as possible. 

RECIPE (No. 3). 
Astringent Drink for Lambs.— Take compound chalk powder with opium, a drachm ; 
gentian.'a scruple ; essence of peppermint, three drops. Mix with a little thin starch, 
and give morning and night. 

If the animal should still linger on, and the purging should not be 
much abated, it is probable that the milk of the mother is most in 
fault. The lamb should then be taken from her, and fed with cow's 
milk boiled, to every pint of which a scruple of prepared chalk has 
been added, the astringent drink being continued as before. 

If the purging abates, the medicine should be immediately sus- 
pended, or not given so frequently, lest costiveness should follow, a 
disease which I shall presently describe, and which is also very fatal. 

The lamb with diarrhoea should be docked on the first appearance 
of the disease, if the operation had not been previously performed, 
and the hair should be carefully cut away under the tail, otherwise it 
is liable to become clotted. It will adhere together, and form an 
obstruction about the anus, so that the faeces cannot be discharged. 
The least ill consequence of this will be very great soreness about 
the part ; but in many cases the animal will die in consequence of the 
obstruction, before the existence of it is suspected. 

The colour of the discharge will considerably influence the mode 
of treatment. If it is of an olive-green colour, the drink should be 
persevered in; and on every third day half a table-spoonful of castor 
oil should be administered. If it is of a white colour, it may probably 
proceed from coagulation of the milk, and should be treated as advised 
in a previous page. 

If the lamb is two or three months old, the medicine should be 
correspondingly increased, and he has a better chance: if he is five 
or six months old, he will only be lost through the negligence of the 
farmer or attendant. The same means must be pursued ; but another 
thing must be added, and that of the greatest importance, — a change 
of pasture from a succulent to a bare and dry one. The removal to a 
stubble-field is a frequent and very successful practice. 



COSTIVENESS. STAGGERS. 201 



COSTIVE NESS. 

When no evacuation appears to be effected, but the animal is con- 
tinually straining - , two circumstances must be carefully examined 
into, — first, whether there is the obstruction of which I have just 
spoken, utterly preventing - the discharge of the dung, and a speedy 
remedy being at hand, namely, the removal of the clotted wool; or 
whether, after the straining - , some drops of liquid faeces may not be 
perceived : this, although often mistaken for costiveness, clearly in- 
dicates a very different state of the bowels ; they are actually relaxed, 
— too much so, and the straining results from irritation about the 
anus. 

Actual costiveness, however, is not an unfrequent complaint, and 
must be speedily attacked; for it is either the accompaniment of 
feyer, or it will very speedily lead on to fever. The existence of fever 
should be carefully inquired into : heaving of the flanks, restlessness, 
and heat of the mouth, will be sufficient indications of it. Bleeding 
in proportion to the degree of fever, and the age and strength of the 
lamb, should then be had recourse to. Next, the bowels must be 
opened ; one-fourth of the Purging Drink (No. 2, p. 200) will be the 
best thing that can be given, and it should be repeated every sixth 
hour until the desired effect is produced. The lamb should be turned 
into greener and more succulent pasture, and especially where there 
is any fresh flush of grass ; and if, after a while, he should altogether 
refuse to eat, he may be drenched with gruel, in which a little Epsom 
salts should always be dissolved. While this affords nutriment, it 
will cool the animal, and open the bowels. 

• STAGGERS. 

Many lambs are lost from this disease, and the farmer most cer- 
tainly has here no one to blame but himself. It attacks the most 
thriving lambs, and especially when they are about three or four 
months old ; and it arises from the farmer making a great deal more 
haste than usual in fattening them for the market. It resembles the 
blond in cattle, and is usually produced by the same causes. 

The lamb will appear to be in perfect health. All at once he will 
stand still, heaving violently at the flanks, and with the head pro- 
truded ; or he will wander about with great uncertainty in his walk 
and manner: he will then all at once fall down and lie struggling 
upon his back until he is helped up, or dies. Sometimes he is very 
much convulsed. 

Bleeding must be resorted to immediately, and afterwards the 
bowels well opened by means of the Purging Drink. To this some 
cooling febrifuge medicine should succeed. 

RECIPE (No. 4). 
Cooling Fever Drink. — Take powdered digitalis, one scruple; emetic tartar, ten 
grains; nitre, two drachms. Mix with thick gruel, and let it be given twice every 
day. 



202 DISEASES OP SHEEP. 

On examination after death, the head will be found to be the prin- 
cipal part diseased : the vessels of the brain will be distended with 
blood, and there will sometimes be water in the ventricles. 

I have seen half a dozen lambs in staggers in the same field at the 
same time. They had all been exposed to the same cause ; and when 
the disease had begun in one or two, it spread among the rest by the 
strange, and often too powerful, influence of sympathy. 



SECTION III. 



RED-WATER. 



The disease recognised under this name is very different from that 
described in the cow, for here it consists in an accumulation of red- 
dish-coloured fluid (whence its name is derived) in the cavity of the 
abdomen, and frequently in the chest and heart-bag likewise. This 
water accumulates in consequence of inflammation of the serous 
membrane which lines these cavities. In many places the disease is 
termed water-braxy. It is most prevalent at the latter end of autumn 
or the beginning of winter, and is generally observed among sheep 
that are in the most thriving condition, and especially if they have 
been turned into new and rich pasture, and by the side of a copse or 
wood. Sometimes it is very sudden in its attack, and speedily fatal. 
In some fine flocks I have seen it destroy the animal in twenty-four 
hours. In other cases it is less violent, and also slow in its progress. 
The sheep is first observed to be off its feed, dull, disinclined to move : 
it loiters behind, and pants, and is restless. The flanks are tuciied 
up, and there is often costiveness, though sometimes purging. This , 
disease is still more common in lambs than in sheep, and in them 
often appears in the spring of the year, when they are first put on 
turnips with the ewes. In farms where pasturage is scarce, this dis- 
ease is a very frequent visitor, and may be considered to be produced 
by the application of cold, either externally or internally, or probably 
both. 

In the treatment of this disease it is very important to remove the 
animal to a dry and comfortable situation. Bleeding should then be 
freely employed and a laxative administered. 

RECIPE (No. 5). 
Take Epsom salts, one ounce; ginger, one scruple; gentian, one drachm; warm 
water, two ounces ; linseed oil, one ounce. The above may be given, either alone or 
with gruel, to a full-grown sheep, and from one-fourth to one-half to a lamb, accord- 
ing to its age. 

In addition to this the abdomen should be well fomented with hot 
water — a lamb, indeed, may be placed altogether in a warm bath. 

Every shepherd should have a little horn, made of that of a sheep, 
and which will hold about the usual quantity of medicine given as a 



THE BLOOD. 203 

drink; or at least the quantity which the horn will hold should be 
carefully ascertained, and then a large bottle of the mixture may be 
taken into the field, and the proper dose given to as many of the sheep 
as may seem to require it, without the trouble of measuring it every 
time. 

If the animal recover, a change of food must be afforded, and a 
short sweet pasture should be preferred. 



SECTION IV. 

THE BLOOD. 

This is a disease too well known by farmers, and occasionally 
prevalent in every part of the kingdom where the pasture is luxuriant, 
and the system of close feeding is practised. I have known more 
than a hundred sheep die on one farm in the course of a fortnight, 
and entirely because the farmer would not take warning by the loss 
of the first, and put them on poorer ground, but obstinately pursued 
his plan of fattening them as fast as he could. In spring, particu- 
larly, when the young grasses shoot and are full of juice, and espe- 
cially after a few warm days, the blood appears in the flock, and the 
sheep die away by scores. The rich pastures of Romney Marsh in 
Kent, and the Sedgemoors in Somersetshire, are particularly produc- 
tive of this malady. 

It is not always that warning is given of the attack, but generally 
the affected sheep will separate himself from the rest of his flock, 
appear dull, hang his head, his eyes will be heavy, and, if examined, 
bloodshot. He will heave considerably at the flanks, stretch out his 
fore-legs to ease himself, with great difficulty be induced to move, or 
will stagger about, threatening to fall every moment. If neglected, 
six hours will occasionally close the affair; and the animal will very 
rarely live eight-and-forty. On being examined after death, air and 
an effusion of yellow or reddish fluid will be found in the whole of 
the cellular membrane; the veins will everywhere be turgid with 
blood, the muscles livid or black, and the whole contents of the belly 
and chest dark-coloured, hastening to decay, and offensive almost as 
soon as the animal is dead. If it is a ewe near her lambing that is 
attacked, the lamb will always be found dead and putrid. 

Bleeding is the grand thing; on it alone can much dependence be 
placed ; and if the animal is bled at the commencement of the dis- 
ease, and plenty of blood is taken away, he will usually be saved, 
although nothing else were done. The iucmlar is the vein that should 
be opened here, because most blood can be procured from it, and most 
rapidly procured— circumstances both of immense importance in such 
a case. The sheep should be bled until it staggers and falls. Then 
comes, as in other similar cases, physic, and this should be liberally 



204 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

given. Two ounces of Epsom salts, and no ginger with them here, 
6hould be administered every second hour until the sheep is well 
purged, and the purging should be kept up by occasional doses of the 
medicine for several days. 

The bowels having been well opened, the Fever Drink Recipe 
(No. 4, p. 201) should be given morning and night, and the animal 
turned on shorter pasture, and a partial system of starvation for a 
while adopted, and strictly pursued. 

It sometimes happens, as we stated when a similar disease in 
cattle was treated on, that the stage of inflammatory fever rapidly 
passes, and one of a typhoid character, and with a tendency to de- 
composition and putridity, succeeds. There is little chance of saving 
the ox in this state; there is scarcely any of saving the sheep; for 
when he is once down, and foams at the mouth, and looks anxiously 
at his sides, it is generally all over with him. If, however, anything 
is attempted, the following tonic mixture is as good as any : — 

RECIPE (No. 6). 

Tonic Drink for Sheep. — Take gentian root, powdered, a drachm ; ginger, a scruple; 
spirit of nitrous ether, a drachm ; tincture of cardamoms, a drachm. Mix, and give 
in a little gruel. 

It is a good practice, when the disease once appears in a flock, to 
bleed every sheep, and give each a dose of physic and change the 
pasture. 



SECTION V. 

STURDY, GIDDINESS, OR WATER IN THE HEAD. 

This is a very singular, and also a very fatal disease. It commonly 
attacks yearlings; a two or three-shear sheep is generally exempt 
from it. The animal becomes dull; separates himself from the rest 
of the flock ; is frightened at the most trifling circumstance, and at 
the least noise; he runs round and round, but always in one direc- 
tion ; holds his head on one side : if there is a brook in the field, he 
stands upon its banks, poring over the running stream, and nodding 
and staggering, until he frequently tumbles in ; or he breaks from his 
fit of musing, and gallops wildly over the field, but with no certain 
course, and with no determinate object. Soon his appetite fails, or 
he evidently feels so much inconvenience when he stoops to graze, 
that he gives up eating altogether; and then he wastes rapidly away; 
he seems to be half stupid, and at length dies a mere skeleton. 

The disease generally attacks the weakest of the flock. It is in 
some measure connected with a peculiar state of the atmosphere. It 
is most prevalent after a moist winter, and cold, and ungenial spring. 
It usually begins in the spring, continues through the summer, and 
disappears as the winter approaches. It is dependent partly on the 



WATER IN THE HEAD. 205 

season, but more on the health and strength of the animal. It may 
be prevented by good and upland pasture ; and is most common in 
low and marshy ground. It is not contagious, nor does it seem to be 
hereditary. Having once attacked the animal, and gradual loss of 
flesh having commenced, the case is hopeless. 

All medicine will be thrown away in such a case. It is the conse- 
quence of pressure on the brain by a strange, bladder-like-formed 
animal ; and it would be more for the advantage of the owner to de- 
stroy the sheep, however out of condition it may be, than to com- 
mence any desperate and fruitless course of medicine. 

Various methods have been tried in order to break this bladder, 
such as hunting the sheep with dogs, and frightening him half to 
death, throwing him into a gravel-pit, and various other absurd as 
well as brutal methods. They who pursued this course much oftener 
succeeded in breaking the animal's neck than rapturing the bladder. 
At length some persons bethought them of getting at, and puncturing 
or removing, this bladder by some operation. They thrust iron wires 
or skewers up the nostril, and into the brain, and sometimes succeed- 
ed in effecting their purpose. If they hit upon the nuisance, and 
pierced its envelope or skin, they were made aware of it by a greater 
or smaller quantity of water flowing from the nostril, and they could 
always tell on which side the hydatid lay, by the sheep inclining his 
head that way. They could also sometimes tell the precise situation 
of the bladder ; for after being a long time inclosed between the skull 
and the brain, aSid pressed upon by both, and pressing upon both of 
them in turn, not only in consequence of that pressure was a portion 
of the brain below destroyed and absorbed, but even the bone above 
was softened, nothing but a yielding membrane sometimes remaining 
over a particular spot. Some surgeons suggested that this membrane 
should be punctured, and it was done so with the lancet, or, oftener, 
by a heated sharp-pointed wire, and thus the creature beneath was 
wounded and destroyed. Others improved upon this method of 
operating. A surgeon's trephine was used, and a circular piece of 
the skull taken out at the place where it was softened, and thus the 
hydatid was bodily removed ; and when this was carefully done, and 
the bladder was not broken, the hydatid, by slight but sufficiently 
distinct motion, when put into warm water, showed that it was alive. 

Both these operations occasionally succeeded, but the instances of 
failure were so numerous, that the farmer's interest still required that 
he should kill every sheep, unless a favourite, or very valuable one, 
as soon as he was evidently sturdied, and before he had wasted and 
become unfit for the market. 

There may, however, be some prevention, although no cure; and 
that prevention consists in good, and sufficient, and upland pasture : 
yet in some untoward seasons even this will not avail with unhealthy 
and weakly animals. Habitual shelter from the sleet and snow of 
winter is another and very important means of prevention. The un- 
feeling abandonment of the sheep to all the inclemency of the coldest 
18 



206 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

weather is the fruitful source of the majority of the diseases, and of 
the most fatal ones, to which these animals are subject. 

This malady is sometimes accompanied by palsy. Every continued 
pressure on the brain is apt to produce loss of power over some of the 
limbs; but in this case the palsy is variable: it shifts from limb to 
limb, and from side to side, and, unlike simple palsy, is generally 
attended by partial blindness, and by the greatest degree of stupidity. 

I repeat it again, that no medicine can be of the least avail in de- 
stroying the blob, as it is called in some parts of the country : but if 
either of the operations is tried, one of the purging drinks may be 
useful in abating inflammation ; and whether the skull is punctured 
or trephined, a pitch plaster over the wound will preserve the sheep 
from being tortured by the flies. 




SECTION VI. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 

This, although a frequent disease of the sheep, and of the same 
part, and almost as fatal as that which has been just described, is 
accompanied by such different symptoms, that it is scarcely possible 
to confound them. Inflammation of the brain generally attacks the 
healthiest sheep, and of all ages, and more in hot weather than in the 
early part of spring. There is no character of stupidity about this 
affection, no disinclination to move, no moving round and round 
without any determinate object : but the eyes are protruding, blood- 
shot, and bright; and there is an eager and ferocious, not a depressed 
and anxious countenance. The animal is in constant motion : he 
gallops about attacking his fellows, attacking the shepherd, and 
sometimes quarrelling with a post or tree; he is labouring under wild 
delirium, and this continues until he is absolutely exhausted. He 
then stands still, or lies down for a while panting dreadfully, when 
he starts afresh, as delirious and as ungovernable as before. 

The first and the grand remedy is bleeding; and that from the 
jugular, and copiously, and to be obtained as quickly as possible. 
The guide as to the quantity will be the dropping of the animal. To 
bleeding, physicking will of course succeed, and the sheep should be 
Temoved into a less luxuriant pasture. This also is one of the dis- 
eases that should be attacked at its very commencement. Violent 
inflammation of the brain and its membranes will very soon be fol- 
lowed by serious disorganization ; and if water once begins to be 
formed under the membranes, or effused in the ventricles, the case is 
hopeless. Here also the attention of the farmer should be directed to 
preventives. One case of goggles may be accidental ; but if two or 
three are seized with inflammation of the brain, the farmer may be 



DISCHARGE FROM THE NOSE. 207 

assured that there is something wrong in his system of management, 
and that which, in the majority of cases, is the root of the evil, is too 
rich pasture, probably succeeding to spare feed. A dose of salts 
should, therefore, be given to each sheep, and the pasture of the whole 
should be changed. 



SECTION VII. 

COLD, AND DISCHARGE FROM THE NOSE, &C 

Here again, from the cruel and impolitic abandonment of the sheep, 
hundreds of them are lost during the winter. When they are drenched 
to the skin by continual rains, or half smothered with snow, and have 
not even a hedge a yard high to break the biting blast, can it be won- 
dered that cold and cough should be frequent in the flock ; and that 
it should be severe and unmanageable, and even occasionally run on 
to inflammation of the lungs, and consumption and death 1 I am not 
an advocate for close housing, or too much nursing. lam aware that 
we may thus render the sheep unnaturally tender, and more exposed 
to catarrh and all its consequences; but I would tell the farmer, that 
the fleece of the sheep, however thick, is an insufficient protection in 
cold and wet weather, and an open and bleak situation. 

The symptoms of catarrh are heaviness, watery eyes, running from 
the nose. The discharge is thick, and clings about the nostril, and 
obstructs it, and the sheep is compelled to suspend its grazing almost 
every minute, and with violent efforts blow away the obstruction. 
Cough frequently accompanies this discharge; and if there is much 
fever, it will be shown by loss of appetite and rapid weakness. 

There is a discharge from the nostrils which sometimes attacks the 
whole flock, and if it is not attended by wasting in flesh or loss of 
appetite, the farmer does not regard it ; for he knows from experience, 
that, in spite of all he can do, it will probably last through the winter, 
and disappear as the spring advances. When, however, he perceives 
this nasal gleet, he should keep a sharp look-out over his flock, and 
if there is one that stays behind, or will not eat, he should catch him, 
and remove him to a warmer situation, and bleed him, and give him 
the laxative and fever drinks, and nurse him with mashes and hay. 
If a second or a third sheep should fail in the same manner, he must 
indeed look about him ; there is danger to all, for the inflammation 
has spread itself from the throat down the windpipe to the air-passages 
of the lungs, and a very dangerous disease, called bronchitis, is pro- 
duced. He must move the whole flock to a more sheltered situation. 
He must move them to a pasture of somewhat different character. He 
must take them from their turnips or their hay, and give them what 
other food his farm will afford. He should, if he will take the trouble 
to do so (and he would be amply repaid for that trouble), bleed them 
all round, and physic them all. This is strange doctrine to the farmer, 



208 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

who is accustomed to look on and let things take their course. It is, 
however, good advice, and he will find it so, if he will but follow it. 
Yet let him not, in his determination to rouse himself and do some- 
thing, listen too much to the suggestions of the shepherd or the far- 
rier. Let him not give any of those abominable cordial drinks, which 
have destroyed thousands of sheep. Warmth, housing at night, 
littering with clean straw, and warm gruel if the animal will not eat 
or drink, are not only allowable, but useful : nay, I would allow a 
little ginger or a little ale with the medicine ; but not those compounds 
of all manner of hot and injurious spices, which would kindle a fire 
in the veins of the animal, if it were not blazing there before. 

[Experienced sheep-breeders recommend a dose of tar, to be repeated for foul noses ; 
but lest that be neglected, it is recommended as a good precaution, under all circum- 
stances, to have some saplings or small trees bored with a large auger at proper dis- 
tances, and the holes to be kept supplied with common salt. Let the edges of these 
holes be smeared with tar, and thus the sheep in the act of getting the salt will tar 
his own nose. There can be no doubt that this would be a good and wholesome 
practice as an item of general management. Few farmers attend as they ought to 
do, to having their stock regularly and plentifully salted, and there is known to be 
something in tar and in resinous plants, as pine and cedar, particularly healthy for 
sheep. — S.] 

INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS 

Is not unfrequently the result of a common cold, not attended to, 
the disease extending itself to the lungs : it more commonly appears 
in the spring of the year; its symptoms are dulness, hanging of the 
ears, quick breathing, cough, and discharge from the nostrils. The 
animal should be bled freely from the neck — a pint in general will 
not be too much for a full-grown animal to lose. After this a dose of 
salts should be given, and should be followed by the Fever Drink 
(No. 4, p. 201) once a day. 

INFLUENZA. 

Sometimes a catarrh assumes an epidemic form, and appears as the 
influenza. This disease may be distinguished from a cold, or from 
bronchitis, by the discharge from the nostrils being more profuse and 
the eyes nearly closed, great uneasiness of the head, and a sudden 
prostration of strength. Sometimes the animal will run round in a 
circle, and a rattling will be heard in the windpipe : these symptoms 
will be soon followed by death. 

Bleeding should in genera] be abstained from in this disease, but 
half an ounce of Epsom salts, with one drachm of gentian, should 
be given dissolved in gruel ; but if the sheep purged before, instead 
of the above the following should be given, and be assisted by good 
nursing and care : — 

RECIPE (No. 7). 

Take prepared chalk, one ounce ; catechu, half a Iraehm ; opium, twenty grains ; 
spirit of nitrous ether, two drachms; gentian, one drachm. To be dissolved in gruel, 
and given twice a day till the purging ceases; after which the two last ingredients, 
with a drachm of nitre and ten grains of tartarised antimony, should be given in 
gruel once a day. 



BLOWN, OR BLAST. 209 

SECTION VIII. 

BLOWN, OR BLAST. 

This is of as frequent occurrence among sheep as oxen, and it is as 
fatal. The cause is the same, the removal of the animals from poor 
keep to rich and succulent food. When sheep are first turned on 
clover, or even on any pasture more nutritious than that to which they 
have been accustomed, if they are not watched and kept moving 
during the day, and folded elsewhere at night, they are too apt to 
overload the paunch, so that it can no longer contract upon and expel 
its contents : fermentation then ensues, and the extrication of gas : 
the paunch is distended to the utmost, and the animal is often suffo- 
cated. The remedy of the farmer is the same here as with the ox — 
pauncking, or thrusting a sharp pen-knife into the paunch, between 
the hip-bone and the last rib on the left side, when the gas with which 
the stomach is distended will escape. The objection to this practice 
is likewise the same as in oxen — that when a portion of the gas has 
escaped, the stomach will no longer be firmly pressed against the 
side, and the wounds in the side and the paunch will no longer ex- 
actly correspond ; a portion of the gas, and of the contents of the 
stomach too, will then pass into the cavity of the abdomen, and 
(although the animal may seem for a while to recover) will be an 
unsuspected source of inflammation, and even of death. 

The common elastic tube, so strongly recommended by Dr. Duncan, 
is preferable to the knife : the gas will escape as completely, and 
without any possibility of danger. It is passed down the gullet into 
the paunch. The stomach-pump, however, is here likewise a far 
preferable instrument, for, as was remarked when treating of the 
hoove in oxen, the acid fluid which is probably in the stomach may 
be pumped out, or sufficient warm water pumped in to excite vomit- 
ing, and thus free the stomach of its oppressive load. If neither the 
purnp nor the tube is at hand, a stick with a knob at the end of it 
should be passed by the shepherd into the paunch, which, separating 
the muscular pillars that constitute the roof of this stomach, is far 
preferable to the knife. 

When a sheep is first seized with the blown or blast, he will often 
be relieved by being driven gently about for an hour or two, and put 
into a bare pasture. In the act of moving, these pillars will he occa- 
sionally separated a little from each other, and the gas will escape ; 
but the animal must not be gallopped or driven by dogs, lest the sto- 
mach should be ruptured. 

The animal having been relieved, or the contents of the stomach 
evacuated, a purgative should always be administered, and that com- 
bined with some aromatic. The following will be useful ; — 
18* 



210 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

RECIPE (No. 8). 
Physic for Blown. — Take Glauber's salts, erne ounce, and dissolve in peppermint 
water, four ounces; to this add, tincture of ginger, a drachm ; tincture of gentian, a 
drachm; boiling water, an ounce. This should be given every six hours, until the 
bowels are opened, and half the quantity on each of the four next mornings. 

The same treatment recommended for cattle for this disease is like- 
wise equally desirable for sheep, the dose being about one-sixth or 
one-eighth less in quantity. 



SECTION IX. 

THE YELLOWS, OR JAUNDICE. 

Sheep are subject to several sad affections of the liver, among 
which ranks that destructive disease the rot. Jaundice is a less for- 
midable malady, but often sufficiently destructive. It consists of a 
superabundant discharge of bile, or an obstruction of the biliary tubes ; 
and in either case a considerable quantity of bile enters into the cir- 
culation, penetrates into the capillary vessels, and thus tinges the 
skin. A superabundant discharge of the bile is the most frequent 
cause. 

The liver seems to be a very tender organ in fatted and pampered 
sheep, aud easily inflamed or put out of order. In the half-starved, 
half-wild varieties of the sheep, inflammation of the liver and jaun- 
dice seldom occurs; but too high living exhibits its injurious conse- 
quences in this organ first of all. It is often seen, after sheep have 
been moved into fair but not too luxurious pasture, that if they have 
escaped the blown, a yellowness has soon begun to steal over the 
eyes and the mouth, and the skin generally; and the animal has been 
dull, and has disliked to move, and has sometimes been purged, but 
more frequently costive, and the urine has been of a dark yellow- 
brown colour. The liver could not maintain its healthy state under 
this injudicious increase of nutriment. When the farmer and the 
shepherd have either neglected to observe this, or to adopt the proper 
treatment, many of the sheep have died in a few days. On examina- 
tion after death, marks of intense inflammation have appeared every- 
where, but more particularly in the liver, which has been of a red- 
brown colour, and double its natural size, and is broken to pieces 
with the slightest force. 

If it is taken in time, this is not a disease very difficult to treat. 
On the first decided yellowness being observed, the animal should be 
removed to a bare field, and should have the Purging Drink (No. 2, 
p. 200) : half doses of it should also be repeated for several succes- 
sive mornings, so that the bowels may be kept in a relaxed state. 
Mercury will not be wanted. Calomel is rarely a safe medicine, and 
it is a very uncertain one for sheep. A little starvation, and plenty 



THE ROT. 211 

of purgative medicine, will be all that is required. Should the ani- 
mal appear to be considerably weakened, this drink will be useful : — 

RECIPE (No. 9). 
General Tonic Dnvk.—Tnke, gentian, two drachms; Colombo, one drachm ; gin- 
ger, half a drachm : give in four ounces of warm gruel. 



SECTION X. 

THE ROT. 

This disease is the very pest of the sheep, and destroys more of 
them than all the other maladies put together. There are few win- 
ters in which it may not be safely said that many hundred thousands 
perish by it. The cause seems to be better understood than it used 
to be, and on many a pasture that had formerly obtained a fatal cele- 
brity for rotting sheep, they may now feed securely; yet almost as 
many sheep die of the rot as there ever did. I shall, perhaps, be 
able to show the principal reason of this, and arouse my readers and 
agriculturists generally to the adoption of more effectual preventive 
measures. 

The symptoms of the rot in the early stage are exceedingly obscure. 
There is little to indicate the existence of the disease even to the most 
accurate observer. This is one cause of the mischief that is done; 
for it prevents the malady from being attacked when only it could be 
conquered. The earliest symptom is one that is common to a great 
many other diseases, and from which no certain conclusion can be 
drawn, except that the animal is ill, and labours under fever. The 
sheep is dull, he lags behind in his journey to and from the fold, and 
he does not feed quite so well ; but these are as much early symp- 
toms of the staggers as of the rot. 

This, however, goes on some time, and then a palish yellow hue 
steals over the skin, easy enough to be seen when the wool is parted, 
and most evident in the eyelids, and that which is generally called 
the white of the eyes. The lips and mouth are soon tinged, but not 
to so great a degree. The sheep does not otherwise appear to be ill. 
If he does not eat much, he does not lose flesh ; on the contrary, he 
seems to gain condition, and that for several weeks. Graziers were 
taught this by Mr. Bakewell. He found that he could save a fort- 
night or more in the fattening of his sheep for the market by giving 
them the rot; and he used to keep a piece of wet ground expressly 
for this purpose, and on which he regularly turned the sheep that he 
destined for the butcher. This may be a useful hint for those farmers 
who have too much of this disease every winter. It may be hard to 
be compelled to part with some of the best of their flock, but if they 
are watchful they may sell the greater part of them without any very 



212 DISEASES OP SHEEP. 

serious loss. The farmer, however, is not always sufficiently watch- 
ful about this, and too frequently will not believe that his sheep have 
the rot until the conviction is forced upon him by the loss of some 
of his flock, and the wasting condition of many more. 

This thriving period soon passes over, and the sheep begin to 
waste much more rapidly than they had acquired condition. First, 
there is a perceptible alteration in the countenance, — a depressed, 
unhealthy appearance, accompanied by increased yellowness. The 
tongue especially becomes pale and livid. The animal is feverish ; 
the heat of the mouth, and the panting, and heaving of the flanks, and 
general dulness, sufficiently indicate this. Some degree of cough 
comes on ; some discharge from the nose ; or the breath begins to be 
exceedingly offensive. The sheep is sometimes costive; at other 
times it purges with a violence which nothing can arrest, and the 
matter discharged is unusually offensive, and often streaked with 
blood. And now the soft mellow feel of the sheep in condition is no 
longer found, but there is an unhealthy flabbiness; even where there 
is but little left between the skin and the bone, there is a flabby — a 
kind of pitty feeling ; the parts give way, but they have lost their 
elasticity, and they do not plump up again : there is also a crackling 
sound when the loins or back are pressed upon. The farmer knows 
what this is, and what he is to expect, both in the sheep and the ox : 
very few of them recover after this crackling has once been heard. 

At an uncertain period of the disease the sheep usually become 
what the graziers call cknckered, that is, a considerable swelling 
appears under the chin. If this is punctured, sometimes a watery 
fluid escapes, and sometimes matter ; and occasionally the swelling 
bursts, and an ulcer, very difficult to heal, follows. 

The bow r els, w'hich are variable at first, become at length very 
relaxed. A fetid purging comes on of all colours, and which pursues 
its course in defiance of every astringent. 

The wool begins to fall off in patches : it is loose all over the ani- 
mal, and easily pulled off, and there is a white scurfiness adhering 
to its roots. The disease now still more rapidly proceeds ; and while 
the sheep loses flesh every day, and every rib and every bone of the 
back can be plainly felt, his belly increases — he gets dropsical. The 
end is not then far off. 

The progress of the disease is more or less rapid, according to the 
violence of the attack, or the strength or weakness of the sheep, or 
the care that is bestowed on him, or the utter neglect to which he is 
abandoned. The animal occasionally dies in two months after the 
first evident symptom of rot, but usually four or five or six months 
elapse before the animal is perfectly exhausted. 

The farmer is not much accustomed to examine his sheep after 
death. It would be better for him if he paid more attention to this, 
for he would discover the nature, and probably the cause, of many a 
complaint that is committing sad ravages in his flock. The appear- 
ances exhibited in the sheep that has died of the rot are very singular. 



THE ROT. 213 

There appears to be dropsy, not only in the belly, but all over the 
animal. Wherever the knife is used, a yellow watery fluid runs 
out; and the consequence of the existence of this fluid everywhere is, 
that the muscles, and that which should be firm, honest fat, are yield- 
ing", and flabby, and unwholesome. When the belly and chest are 
opened, the heart is pale, and soft, and flabby, and often to such a 
degree that we wonder how it could have continued to discharge its 
duty. The lungs are more or less gorged with blood; and there are 
a great many hard knotty points, of various sizes (tubercles), in them 
and on them, some of which have probably broken, and the lungs are 
full of ulcers ; or when this is not the case, the lungs are studded 
with innumerable little knotty points of a dark colour. 

The principal disease, however, is in the liver, which is much 
enlarged, often of double its natural size, broken down by the slight- 
est touch, sometimes black from inflammation and congested blood, 
and at other times of an unhealthy lividness : but that which is most 
remarkable, which is characteristic of the disease, is, that its vessels 
are filled with flukes, curiously-shaped things like little soles, which 
are swimming about in the bile in every duct, and burrowing into 
every part of the liver. Several hundreds of them are sometimes 
contained in one liver. A few of them may occasionally be found in 
the upper part of the intestines, but there only. 

The upper part of the liver is frequently speckled like the body of 
a toad ; indeed this has been so often remarked, that the examiner, if 
he does not find flukes, and sometimes when he does, looks out for 
the toad's liver. The liver is so diseased and corrupted, that if an 
attempt is made to boil it, instead of becoming hardened, it falls all 
to pieces, or is in a manner dissolved. Abscesses are oftener found 
in the liver than in the lungs, and to an extent sufficient to destroy 
the sheep without any other cause. Sometimes there are knots in 
the liver as well as in the lungs — small, round, hardened lumps — 
and in a few cases they are so numerous, that it is almost impossible 
to find a sound part. 

If the farmer would accustom himself to observe these things, and 
carefully examine every #heep that dies in the autumn, he would 
sometimes detect the existence of this disease in his flock before he 
would otherwise have been aware of it. Nay, he should not confine 
his examination to this, but should observe the appearance of the 
inside of every sheep which he may kill for the use of his family 
about that time. It should be a practice never omitted, and however 
seemingly healthy the animal may die, whatever quantity of suet 
may cover the kidneys, if the liver is dappled with white spots, or if 
the vessels of the liver are thickened, and if there are flukes, however 
small, floating about in the bile, that sheep was certainly rotted ; and 
if one sheep is rotted, the greater part of the remainder will probably 
follow. Aware of this, and at this early period of the disease, the 
grazier may, either by hastening the fattening process, or shifting the 
pasture, or adopting medical treatment, put many scores of pounds 
into his pocket, which would otherwise be irrecoverably lost. 



214 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

This examination of the sheep will lead us to the principal and 
primary seat of the disease, namely, the liver. What is the cause of 
this affection of the liver is another question, and a very important 
one. There is a dispute which no one has yet settled, whether this 
fluke-worm is the cause or the consequence of the disease. I am 
very much inclined to think that it is the consequence, although it 
may and does much aggravate the disease. These parasitical ani- 
mals, both in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, fasten upon a part 
that is diseased, or the vitality of which is weakened. 

Another disputed point is the source of these flukes. Are the eggs 
taken up in the herbage ? Does some insect or fly, that is a fluke in 
one part of its existence, lay its eggs on plants growing in wet pas- 
tures, or by the side of stagnant water? We have no proof of this, 
and we never saw the fluke in any other form. Therefore, it is use- 
less to dispute about that which cannot be resolved. The most pro- 
bable thing, however, is, that the eggs, whence the fluke is produced, 
are, like the eggs of many animalcula, floating in the air, so small 
and pellucid as to be invisible to us ; that they are inhaled with the 
breath, or received with the food, but only find a proper nest, a proper 
place to be hatched into life, in the liver of the sheep labouring under 
the rot. 

These flukes are occasionally found in the livers of almost every 
domestic quadruped, and so far as it has hitherto appeared, they are 
in all of them connected with disease. 

Well, then, what is the cause of this affection of the liver? It is 
evidently connected with moisture, although it may be difficult to 
trace the connexion between this moisture and a diseased liver. 

It is, however, proper to observe, that the eggs of flukes have been 
found in countless numbers in the biliary ducts on examining the 
liver of a cothed or rotten sheep in the months of April, May, or June ; 
and it is considered by respectable authority, that these eggs are 
passed into the bowels, evacuated with the dung, and, their vitality 
being preserved by the sun and moisture, they are swallowed with 
the grass by sound animals, who thus become infected. Whereas 
if the eggs had fallen on dry land, their v^ality would be destroyed. 
Although it appears reasonable enough that the infection is produced 
through the medium of the stomach, yet it would be expected, if the 
above theory were entirely correct, that by keeping sheep from rot- 
ting land for several years, such land would cease to produce the 
disease, from the absence of the eggs ; which, however, is not found 
to be the case. It is therefore probable that there are other sources 
from which the eggs of flukes are derived, besides the dung of sheep. 
The history of the rot is plain enough here. It prevails, or rather 
it is found only, in boggy, poachy ground. On upland pasture, with 
a light sandy soil, it is never seen ; and in good sound pasture, in a 
lower situation, it is only seen when, from an unusually wet season, 
that pasture has become boggy and poachy. It is also proved to 
demonstration, that land that has been notoriously rotting ground, has 



THE ROT. 215 

been rendered perfectly sound and healthy by being well under- 
drained, that is, by being made dry. There are hundreds of thou- 
sands of acres, on which a sheep, forty years ago, could not pasture 
for a day without becoming rotten, that are now as healthy as any in 
the kingdom. 

We can also tell the kind of wet ground which will give the rot. 
Wherever the water will soon ran off, there is no danger; but where 
it lies upon the surface of the ground, and slowly evaporates, the rot 
is certain. One part of a common shall be enclosed ; or if it has not 
been drained, at least the hollows in which the water used to stand 
are filled up, and the surface is levelled : no rot is caught there. On 
the other side of the hedge there are these marshy places, these little 
stagnant ponds, where evaporation is always going forward, and the 
ground is never dry — a sheep cannot put his foot there without being 
rotted. These are plain, palpable facts, and they are sufficient for 
the farmer's purpose, without his puzzling his brains about the man- 
ner in which wet ground produces diseased liver. 

He may be assured that it has nothing to do with the animal's 
feeding on stimulating or poisonous herbs. It has nothing whatever 
to do with the food. It depends on the wetness or dryness of the 
pasture. 

How is it, then, that when so great a part of the country is under- 
drained, the rot should continue to be almost as prevalent as ever? 
W T hy is it not so prevalent where the ground has been properly under- 
drained 1 There are fields in every well-managed farm in which the 
rot is never known ; there are others in which it still continues to 
depopulate the flock. 

The draining may not be equally effectual in both. It might have 
been carelessly, superficially performed in the one case; or the soil 
of the two pastures may be very different. The one may be light 
and porous, and a little draining may effect the purpose : the soil of 
the other may be heavy and tenacious, and drains not more than a 
yard asunder would scarcely keep it dry. What is more to the pur- 
pose, but less thought of, there may be little nooks and corners in the 
field that have not been underdrained. A few minutes' trampling 
upon them will be fatal to the sheep, and one or two of them upon 
the whole farm will render all the labour bestowed on every other 
part absolutely nugatory. 

It is surprising how soon the animal is infected. The merely 
going once to drink from a notedly dangerous pond has been suffi- 
cient. The passing over one suspicious common in the way to or 
from the fair, and the lingering only for a few minutes in a deep and 
poachy lane. Then it can easily be conceived what mischief one or 
two of these neglected corners, in which there may be little swamps 
perhaps only a yard or two across, may do in a farm in other respects 
well managed, and perfectly free from infection. 

The disease of the liver terminating in or constituting the rot, is, 
then, dependent on moisture, and that retained for a certain time on 



216 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

the surface of the ground, so that the process of evaporation may have 
commenced : it is also probable that the decomposition of vegetable 
matter growing on the surface has much to do in producing the 
complaint. 

If sheep-breeders would get more into the habit of having oxen to 
turn upon the aftermath of their low and dangerous pastures, instead 
of venturing so frequently to send their sheep there, because they 
cannot afford to lose that portion of the crop, they would not suffer 
the grievous losses w T hich sometimes almost break them down. 

The preventive, then, seems plain enough. On good sound ground 
the sheep need not fear the rot; and other stock should be kept on 
the farm to pasture on the suspicious or dangerous places. The 
draining should be effective where it is attempted, and no nook or 
corner should escape. 

Can anything be done by way of cure! Probably there may, and 
a great deal more than the farmer imagines. All, however, depends 
upon the stage of the disease. The liver may be diseased, but it 
must not be disorganised ; it must not be tuberculated or ulcerated ; 
and the flukes must not have burrowed too deeply into it. The 
farmer, from habitual observation of his flock, must have discovered 
it at the very commencement of its attack, or he must have been 
made aware of it by the examination of some sheep that died, or that 
had been slaughtered for the use of his family. Then he may do 
good. Good is often done without his help. A succession of dry 
weather will often stop, or at least retard, the ravage%of the rot. If 
moisture be the cause of it, he must remove that cause. He must 
change the pasture, and drive his flock to the driest ground his farm 
contains; and besides this, he must give a little dry meat — a little 
hay. Some have advised to feed the suspected sheep altogether on 
hay. This is carrying the matter a little too far : for in the prime of 
the season the sheep will pine for the grass, and rapidly lose condi- 
tion for want of it. A change to a thoroughly dry pasture will some- 
times do wonders. At all events, it is worth trying. The animals 
must, however, be carefully watched, and if it is not evident from 
their more cheerful countenance and manner, and the diminution or 
disappearance of the yellowmess, that the disease is giving w r ay, 
advantage must be taken of their present condition, and they must be 
turned over to the butcher. Let the farmer at least do something : 
let him either sell them at once, reckoning, and generally rightly, that 
the first loss is the least; or let him set to work and endeavour to 
combat the disease: but do not let him stand with folded arms, and 
suffer the best of his flock to dwindle away one after another. 

As for the medical treatment of the rot in sheep, there are a great 
many nostrums, but few, if anj% have stood the test of extensive 
experience. This has partly arisen from a cause which has already 
been hinted at — the disease not being recognised and attacked before 
it has made much inroad on the constitution, and when, or perhaps 
when only, it will yield to medicine. But I believe that with regard 



THE ROT. 217 

to the fairest cases every medicine has occasionally failed, or failed 
almost as often as it has succeeded. We must in no case despair : 
the disease has sometimes been suspended, and the sheep has reco- 
vered. Let not, however, the practitioner be deluded into the use of 
calomel, or blue-pill, or any preparation of mercury, because the rot 
is an affection of the liver. Mercury rarely seems to agree with the 
herbivorous animals in any form. I have seen it do much harm in 
some affections of the liver, and I have known many animals de- 
stroyed by the use of it. 

There is, however, a drug, or, rather, a very common and useful 
condiment, which I believe has entered into the composition of every 
medicine by which this complaint has been successfully treated ; I 
mean common salt. The virtues of this substance are not sufficiently 
estimated, either as mingled with the usual food, or as an occasional 
medicine. All herbivorous animals are fond of it. It increases both 
the appetite and the digestion. Cattle will greedily eat bad forage 
that has been sprinkled with it, in preference to the best fodder with- 
out salt; and it seems now to be a well-ascertained fact, that domes- 
ticated animals of all kinds thrive under its use, and are better able 
to discharge the duties required from them. 

The consideration of this induced the use of salt in various com- 
plaints, and especially in the rot, which is an affection of one of the 
most important of the digestive organs ; and it has not deceived the 
expectations that were raised as to its sanative power. 

As, however, the rot is a disease accompanied by so much debility, 
and wasting of flesh as well as of strength, tonics and aromatics are 
usually mingled with the salt; but first of all the bowels are evacu- 
ated by some of the usual purgatives, and the Epsom salts are the 
best. The following prescription should then be tried : — 

RECIPE (No. 10). 
Mixture for the Rot. — Take, common salt, eight ounces; powdered gentian, two 
ounces; ginger, one ounce ; tincture of Colombo, four ounces: put the whole into a 
quart bottle, and add water so as to fill the bottle. 

A table-spoonful of this mixture should be given morning and night 
for a week, and then the following mixture may be given at night, 
while the former is continued in the morning, and by which the 
flukes will be destroyed, as the worms in the bronchial tubes some- 
times are in the hoose of young cattle. 

RECIPE (No. 11). 
Second Mixture for the Rot.— Take, of recipe No. 10 (above'), a quart ; spirit of tur- 
pentine, three ounces : shake them well together when first mixed, and whenever tha 
medicine is given. Two table-spoonfuls are the usual dose. 

The morning dose should be given on an empty stomach, and the 
evening dose before the night's feed is given, if the animal is housed. 

All the hay should be salted, and some have recommended that 
even the pasture should be impregnated with salt. This is easily 
managed. A little plot of ground may be selected, or a portion of ^ 
19 



218 DISEASES OP SHEEP. 

field hurdled off, and salt scattered over it as equally as possible, and 
in the proportion of ten bushels to an acre. Three weeks afterwards 
the sheep may be turned on it to graze, stocking- the ground after the 
rate of ten sheep to an acre; in the meantime the field from which 
they are taken may be brined in the same manner. When they have 
eaten the grass quite close, they may be changed back to the other 
plot, and so on as often as may be necessary, strewing at each change 
five bushels of salt per acre on the pasture. The sheep will fatten 
at a rapid rate if the disease is not too much advanced, and the dis- 
ease will sometimes be arrested even in the worst cases. 

It must, however, be confessed, that although sheep are often saved 
from the rot by the use of salt, they have rarely been perfectly restored 
to their former health. The taint is left; they are more disposed to 
receive the infection from a slight cause; and, six or twelve months 
afterwards, they frequently die of hoose or inflamed bowels : there- 
fore, it will be the interest of the farmer to fatten them as soon as 
possible, and sell them to the butcher. The butcher will always tell 
by the appearance of the liver whether the sheep had at any former 
time been rotted. In some few cases lambs have been procured from 
ewes thus cured, but they have seldom lasted longer than one or two 
seasons. 



SECTION XI. 

THE FOOT-ROT. 

Although this disease resembles the last in name, it is altogether 
different in character. It is not so fatal as the liver rot, but it is 
sadly annoying: it is of very frequent occurrence, and it seems to be 
increasing. 

It is, like the rot, peculiar to certain pastures ; but there is more 
variety in this than is found with regard to the rot. There we must 
have stagnant water, and the process of evaporation going- forward. 
For the production of the foot rot we mnst have soft grmmd, and it 
does not seem much to matter how that softness comes about. In 
the poachy and marshy meadow, in the rich and deep pasture of the 
lawn, and in the yielding- sand of the lightest soil, it cannot, perhaps, 
be said that it is almost equally prevalent, but it is frequently found. 
Soft and marshy ground is its peculiar abode. The natrve mountain 
sheep knows nothing about it: it is when the horn has been softened 
by being- too long in contact with some rich and moist land, that the 
animal begins to halt. This softness is connected with unnatural 
growth of horn, and with unequal pressure; and the consequence is, 
that some part of the foot becomes irritated and inflamed by this 
undue pressure, or the weakened parts of the horn, too rapidly and 
unevenly growing - , are broken off, and corroding ulcers are produced. 



THE FOOT-ROT. 219 

Although there would not appear to be any great wear and tear of the 
foot in this soft land, yet the horn becomes so exceedingly unsound 
and spongy, that small particles of sand or gravel make their way 
through the softened mass, and penetrate to the quick. It not unfre- 
quently happens that injuries of this sort are produced unconnected 
with and independent of the foot-rot, and they may be cured much 
easier, but by very similar means. The hardness or the sponginess 
of the horn depends altogether on the dryness or moisture of the soil 
in which the animal has fed. Large, heavy sheep, having compara- 
tively thinner hoofs than lighter ones, are more subject to the disease. 

True foot-rot more frequently begins from above than below. The 
horn is rendered softer, weaker, and more luxuriant by exposure to 
wet : the foot, from being kept wet and cold, is exposed to re-action 
with any change of weather, and inflammation is thus excited within 
the foot, which often ends in suppuration, and this occasions those 
troublesome ulcers that are sometimes witnessed. 

The first symptom of the disease is the lameness of the sheep. 
On the foot being examined, this morbid growth is almost invariably 
found. The foot is hot, and the animal shrinks if it is firmly pressed. 
It is particularly hot and painful in the cleft between the two hoofs; 
and there is generally some enlargement about the coronet. There is 
always an increased secretion, usually fetid, and often there is a wound 
about the coronet discharging a thin, stinking fluid : sometimes there 
is a separation of the horn from the parts beneath, and that too fre- 
quently preceding the dropping orT of the hoof. In comparatively a 
few cases the hoofs seem to be worn to the quick at or near the toe. 
The lameness rapidly increases, and often to such a degree indeed, 
that the sheep is unable to stand, but moves about the field on its 
knees. The soft portions of the foot, and sometimes the very bones 
of it, slough away, and drop off. 

All this is necessarily attended by a great deal of pain, and the 
animal shows how much it preys upon him by his moaning, and re- 
fusing to eat, and ceasing to ruminate, and most rapidly wasting. 
Irritating fever comes on, and after the poor creature has crept about 
the field on his knees for a few weeks, he dies from irritation and 
starvation. 

Of one thing the farmer may be assured — that the foot-rot is ex- 
ceedingly infectious. If it once gets into a flock, it spreads through 
the whole. Some valuable writers have denied this; but there is 
scarcely a farmer who has not had woful experience of the truth of it. 
Even on the dryest soil the greater part of the flock have become lame 
in a very few weeks after a diseased sheep has come among them. 
There are, however, some instances in which a sheep with the foot- 
rot has grazed among others during several months, and no disease 
has ensued ; and some curious experiments would make it appear 
that under particular circumstances it is difficult to produce foot-rot by 
inoculation. But these are exceptions to the general rule; and he who 
trusts to the non-contagiousness of foot-rot will suffer as assuredly as 



220 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

the man who, deluded by some of the mischievous theories of the day, 
believes that he may keep a glandered horse in his stable with im- 
punity. 

The treatment of foot-rot is simple enough, and, in the early stage 
of the complaint, usually successful. The foot must be carefully 
examined, and every portion of horn that has separated from the parts 
beneath thoroughly removed, and the sore lightly touched with the 
butyr (chloride) of antimony, applied by means of a small quantity 
of tow rolled round a flat bit of stick, and then dipped into the caustic. 
A stronger, and oftentimes a better, application is made by dissolving 
corrosive sublimate in spirits of wine. Hydrochloric acid is also a 
very useful caustic for foot-rot. If a fungus is sprouting at the place 
where the horn separates from the foot, it must be first cut away with 
the knife, and then the root of it touched also with the caustic ; or, 
what is still better, it may be removed by means of a hot iron. It is 
necessary, indeed, to be rather sparing with the use of the knife 
throughout the disease. There will seldom, except in very bad cases, 
be necessity for binding the foot up ; indeed, the animal will generally 
do better without this. It will be seen by the altered colour of the 
part whether the caustic has been applied with sufficient severity, 
and the dry surface which will be formed over the sore will protect it 
from all common injury better than any covering. 

To these must be added that reasonable and successful practice of 
removing the sheep to higher ground. Sheep among whom the foot- 
rot is beginning to appear are sometimes completely cured by being 
driven to higher and dryer ground. Some farmers, and with a great 
deal of advantage, have their flocks driven four or five times daily 
along a hard road. They thus accomplish two purposes — they wear 
away the irregularly formed horn, the unequal pressure of which has 
irritated and inflamed the foot, and the remaining horn is hardened, 
and enabled better to resist the influence of the moist or soft ground. 
Where the ulceration is extensive, means must be adopted similar to 
those recommended for the treatment of foul in the foot in cattle; but 
in most cases it will be more profitable to the farmer to destroy the 
sheep that has bad foot-rot, if it is in tolerable condition, rather than 
rely on a cure that is uncertain, and during the progress of which the 
animal very rapidly loses flesh and fat. 

If, however, he is determined to attempt a cure, let him wash the 
foot well from all grit and dirt, and then cut off every loose and de- 
tached piece of horn, and every excrescence and fungus, and cover 
the wound with the following powder : — 

RECIPE (No. 12). 
* Caustic Astringent Poicder for Foot-Rot. — Take verdigris; bole armenian ; and 
sugar of lead, equal parts. Rub them well together, until they are reduced to a fine 
powder. 

This should be sprinkled over the sore, and a little dry tow placed 
upon it, and bound neatly and firmly down with tape. The animal 
should afterwards stand in a dry fold-yard for four-and-twenty hours. 



THE FOOT-ROT. 221 

On the next day the tape should be removed, and if the surface is 
tolerably regular, it ma}- be touched, as already directed, with the 
butyr of antimony; but if any fungus remains, the powder must be 
applied another day. The fungus no longer continuing to grow, a 
light dressing with the butyr should be continued every second day 
until the animal is well. Some prefer a liniment or paste to the 
powder, and it is made by mixing the powder with a sufficient quan- 
tity of honey. The farmer may use which he pleases; but a firm and 
equable pressure being produced by the tape is the principal thing to 
be depended upon. 

The sheep-master should as carefully avoid the ground producing 
foot-rot, as that which causes the fatal affection of the liver; and he 
should attempt the same method of altering the character of the low 
and moist ground by good underdraining. The effect of this, how- 
ever, is far from being so certain and beneficial as with regard to the 
rot. The water which would stagnate on the surface may be drained 
away with tolerable ease, but the soil cannot be rendered hard and 
dry, or, if it could, that would not be an advantageous change. The 
sheep might not have the foot-rot, but the ground would be compara- 
tively unproductive. 

If the farmer intends to drive his sheep a considerable distance to 
the market or fair, he will prepare them for the journey by a few days' 
removal to harder and firmer ground, or, perhaps, by driving them a 
short distance, daily, on the still harder public road. 

The farmer should not only take his sheep from light sandy soil in 
long-continued dry weather, because they would starve there, but 
because then alone that soil would give them the foot-rot: its yielding 
nature will not sufficiently keep down the growth of horn, and many 
a particle of sand will insinuate itself into the soft and spongy horn, 
and produce inflammation. For the same reason he should avoid dry 
old pasture at the season when the dews are heaviest, because then 
moisture would most abound there. 

In grounds that are disposed to give the foot-rot, the farmer would 
find it advantageous to have the hooves of his sheep rasped or pared 
once every fortnight or three weeks. This is not often done, but it 
appears reasonable, and would not be very expensive. In uninclosed 
or mountainous countries, where the sheep have particular tracts, 
giavel might be scattered in sufficient quantity to wear and harden 
the horn. 

[This disease is among the greatest scourges to which sheep are liable in America, 
but writers generally regard it as not difficult to be cured. J. It. Speed, of Caroline, 
Tompkins county, New York, found a valuable merino buck much afflicted with it, 
and not having at hand the ingredients recommended in the Complete Grazier and 
other books, he "took down that cure-all among farmers, my bottle of spirits of tur- 
pentine, and with a feather applied it to the parts affected quite plentifully twice or 
three times in the space of three days, (keeping him on a dry floor), when I found a 
perfect cure had been effected." 
19* 



222 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

Mr. Jewet, of Vermont, speaking on ample experience, says— " The foot -rot is an 
infectious disorder which locates between the hoofs, and unless immediate attention 
is rendered, it operates under the horns of the hoof. It is more easily cured in the 
winter, or where the infection freezes. If thoroughly seated, it cannot be entirely 
eradicated from the flock in warm weather, unless they are permitted to run in a 
fresh pasture where there is no exposure afte? the treatment, which is this— first, the 
foot must be pared if infected, and all the ulcerous matter removed ; then apply with 
a swab, zig, or water strongly saturated with pulverised blue vitriol. When tho- 
roughly done, the rot will be removed, and the foot will be healed in four or five 
days. It is very important that the diseased animals should be separated from the 
flock. Fine-woolled sheep, and those that have long hoofs, are much more subject 
to the rot, and more troublesome to cure. It spreads by inoculation only, and rages 
worse in low wet grounds. It is important that they should be examined every week 
until cured, which will require three or four thorough examinations, where the ulcer, 
ation is confirmed. 

By using a trough, the description of which you have in the cut below, the foot 
can be examined with ease; and where there is a large flock, there is a great saving 
in time and labour. 




r The figure represents a trough which will conveniently hold two sheep, with their 
feet uppermost. The frame simply consists of a plank about six feet in length, in 
which four legs are fastened eighteen inches long. Six arms are extended from the 
upper side of the frame, which supports the side-boards A A, six feet long and thir- 
teen inches wide, and forms a trough about one foot in width at the top and four 
inches at the bottom. This trough should stand near the door of another dry yard, 
where the sheep must remain an hour or so after the application of the vitriol, which 
should be applied between the toes of every foot. By the assistance of this apparatus, 
three men can go over from three to four hundred sheep in a day. 

Another very simple remedy is recommended by T. Baynes, of Wilmington, Dela- 
ware. " Take a few bushels of lime, and put it near some place where the sheep 
have to pass, say the bars, and as it is natural for sheep to jump, take notice where 
they alight, and place the lime there about three inches deep. This did effectually 
cure my flock in about a week. The lime should be fresh and slacked, and not less 
than three inches deep; if deeper it might take the hair off the leg above the hoof." — 
Cultivator. The lime might be more conveniently and perfectly applied by means 
of the trough, of which a drawing is given, for the examination of sheep. — S.] 



THE SCAB. 223 

SECTION XII. 

THE SCAB. 

This is a most troublesome and infectious disease, and generally 
to be attributed to bad management. Sheep that have been too much 
exposed to the inclemency of the weather, or that have been half- 
starved, and thus debilitated, are most subject to it. The forest sheep 
are particularly liable to the scab. It is first discovered by the animal 
eagerly rubbing himself against every post, or gate, or bank, or, if the 
itching is very great, tearing off his fleece by mouthfuls. He looks 
thin and ragged ; and if he is caught, there will appear on various 
parts, and particularly along the back, either little red pustules, or a 
harsh dry scurf. The pustules speedily break, and the scurf succeeds. 
The roots of the wool are matted together by it, and portions of the 
fleece come off with almost the slightest touch. 

No one ever doubted the infectiousness of this disease, or suffered 
a scabbed sheep to enter his flock without dearly rueing it. Every 
post, or stone, or tree, against which it has rubbed itself, seems to be 
empoisoned. Every sheep that comes in contact with it is infected. 

The itching of the eruption preys upon the sheep almost as rapidly 
as the foot-rot. A scabbed sheep is a poor hungry-looking, half- 
starved creature ; his fleece is spoiled, and he is useless for the 
butcher. 

Sheep proprietors used to be fond of various lotions for the cure of 
scab. Some applied a strong solution of tobacco, others a solution 
of sal ammoniac, and others one of corrosive sublimate. If these are 
ever used, they should not be made too strong, for many an animal 
has been destroyed by them all. Not more than a quarter of a pound 
of tobacco should be boiled or infused in a gallon of water, nor more 
than an ounce of corrosive sublimate, and which should be previously 
dissolved either in muriatic acid or spirit of wine. The sal ammoniac 
rarely did much harm, but on the other hand it more rarely did good, 
and when used with the corrosive sublimate seemed to impair its 
powers. There are those who have preferred a solution of arsenic to 
either of the others. It is as efficacious as any of them, but it is by 
far the most dangerous. 

A great tub or vat used to be procured, and half filled with either 
of these solutions, and the sheep put into it one by one, and well 
rubbed and washed until the fluid had evidently penetrated the fleece, 
and come into contact with every part of the skin ; but even where 
these lotions succeeded, they gave a peculiar coarseness and harshness 
to the wool, which very much decreased its value. The scurfiness 
likewise did not soon come off; or when it did, patches of the fleece 
separated with it, and left the skin beneath it red, and chapped, and 
ulcerated. 



224 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

An ointment is far preferable, for it softens the scurf, and detaches 
it from the wool, and saves the fleece, and heals the chaps and ulcers 
of the skin, and promotes the future growth of the wool. 

The mercurial or blue ointment in a greater or less degree of strength 
is commonly used ; and if used with caution, the real strength of it 
being previously ascertained, it has generally a good effect; but when 
bought from too many druggists, the quantity of mercury is so varia- 
ble, and so many tricks are played with it, that the shepherd scarcely 
knows how to use it, and too often salivates, and even destroys, some 
of his sheep. 

If the mercurial ointment is to be used, it will be of advantage to 
the farmer, especially if he has many scabbed sheep, to make it him- 
self, and that he may very easily do if he has a wooden pestle and a 
large mortar or iron pot. 

RECIPE (No. 13). 

Mercurial Ointment for Scab. — Take crude quicksilver, one pound ; Venice turpen- 
tine, half a pound; spirit, of turpentine, two ounces. 

These should be rubbed well top-ether for five or six hours, until 
they are perfectly united ; and that will be known by a little being 
taken and rubbed with the finger on a piece of glass. If not the 
slightest globule can be detected, the killing of the mercury is com- 
plete ; but if the smallest shining particle can be seen, the substances 
are not sufficiently mixed. When this is completed, four pounds and 
a half of lard should be added, and the more rancid it is the better: 
for it more readily combines with the mercury, and gives it additional 
power. This lard may be well rubbed with the mixture of mercury 
and turpentine on a square slab of marble ; or it may be melted, and, 
when about the temperature of new milk, added to the other ingre- 
dients, and the whole stirred together until the ointment becomes stiff. 

If the ointment is made during the summer, it will perhaps be too 
fluid to be thoroughly rubbed into the sheep. It may penetrate among 
the neighbouring wool, or run off and be lost. When this is the case, 
one pound of the lard should be omitted, and a pound of black resin 
substituted. 

A great deal depends on the manner in which the ointment is ap- 
plied. It should extend to every part that is in the slightest degree 
affected, and it should be gently but well rubbed in. The wool should 
be carefully parted on the middle of the back, from the poll to the tail, 
and a little of the ointment rubbed in all along the channel thus ex- 
posed. If the disease is slight, another furrow may be made on either 
side, at the distance of two or three inches, and more rubbed in ; but 
if it appears to be inveterate, the divisions should be made at two 
inches distance from each other, and over every part that is affected. 
A second dressing may be applied four days afterwards, if the sheep 
continues to rub itself, but it would not be safe to proceed farther. 
If the sheep should yet rub, a milder ointment should be resorted to, 
which may be. repeated every second day with perfect safety until the 
animal is cured. Indeed I should be very much disposed to use the 



THE SCAB. 225 

milder ointment from the beginning;, because I could go on to the very- 
end, without any fear of unpleasant consequences; and although the 
cure is effected more slowly, the process is safer and surer. 

RECIPE (No. 14). 
Mild Ointment for Scab. — Take flowers of sulphur, a pound; Venice turpentine, 
four ounces ; rancid lard, two pounds ; strong mercurial ointment, four ounces. Rub 
them well together. 

Flowers of sulphur must be used, and not the common black sul- 
phur : that is the refuse of the sulphur, and is almost inert, except it 
derives any power from the arsenic which is generally in combination 
with it, and that would be a dangerous power. There are several 
instances of animals being destroyed by the use of the black sulphur 
in ointment, which had been empoisoned with arsenic. 

This ointment may be used at any time of the year; but the mer- 
curial ointment is not safe in cold or wet weather. 

In very bad cases the following powerful ointment may be em- 
ployed : — 

RECIPE (No. 15). 

Take white hellebore, three ounces ; bichloride of mercury, two ounces ; fish-oil* 
twelve pounds; resin, six ounces; tallow, eight ounces. The two first ingredients to 
be mixed with a part of the oil, and the other ingredients to be melted and added. 

Prevention is here again better than cure, and the practice of smear- 
ing, and especially in cold and exposed situations, is very commend- 
able. It is not a certain preventive, but it renders the animal less 
likely to take the infection, and it is very comfortable and useful to 
the sheep in protecting him from the cold, and hindering the wet from 
penetrating to his skin. 

RECIPE (No. 16). 

Smearing Mixture. — Take a gallon of common tar. and twelve pounds of any sweet 
grease. Melt them together, stirring them well while they are cooling. 

Here, as in dressing for the scab, the wool should be parted in 
rows from the head to the tail, three or four inches asunder, and the 
mixture rubbed carefully with the finger at the bottom of each row. 
The smeared fleece will not fetch so much per pound, but the increase 
of weight, generally in the proportion of five to four, will more than 
compensate for the diminution in price. The usual time for smearing 
is in October, and the sheep are hardier and warmer, free from ver- 
min, and generally free from scab ; and this being the case, they 
evidently thrive better, are sooner fit for the market, and weigh 
heavier. 

It will be evident enough that every precaution ought to be taken 
to prevent the re-appearance of this disease. Every rubbing-place of 
every kind should be thoroughly washed with chloride of lime, and 
every sheep that begins again to ferret immediately separated from 
the flock. 

The scab appears under an exceedingly virulent form in some 
mountainous parts of the country, and particularly in Scotland. Mr. 
Stevenson, in his communications to the Highland Society, thus de- 



226 DISEASES OP SHEEP. 

scribes two varieties of it. The first he curiously calls red-water, an 
improper term, and more especially as the same name is given to 
another disease to which sheep are subject. He says, " This disease 
commonly makes its appearance about the beginning or end of winter, 
and first appears about the breast and belly, although at times it 
spreads itself over other parts of the body. It consists in an inflam- 
mation of the skin that raises it into blisters, which contain a thin, 
reddish, and watery fluid : these continue for a short time, break, and 
discharge their matter, and are followed by a blackish scab. 

"When the sheep are exposed to cold or wetness, the skin being 
fretted, makes the blisters rise ; or they often arise from cold affecting 
the animal internally, thus producing a slight fever, which throws 
out these vesicles on the body." 

The diseased sheep should be put into a fold by himself. A little 
blood should be taken, and the blisters slit up, and a few drops of the 
infusion of tobacco put into them ; a quarter of an ounce of sulphur 
should also be given on six successive mornings. A dose of physic 
should follow. The parts affected should also be daily washed with 
lime-water. 

A more violent eruption is called the wildfire, probably from the 
rapidity with which it spreads. It is more infectious than the scab, 
or, probably, it is one of the worst species of scab. The nitre and 
sulphur should here also be given internally, and the lime-water ap- 
plied externally. 

[The frequency of this loathsome and highly contagious disease induces us to add 
the following from the Cultivator: — 

Among sheep, there is no disease so common, or productive of so much injury, 
certainly not in the United States, as the scab, or as it is called by some, the itch. 
A sheep affected by this disease is restless, rubbing itself violently against posts, 
fences, or whatever is in its way; biting and tearing out the wool with its teeth, 
and exhibiting every sign of intense irritation. On examining the sheep, the skin 
will be found red and rough, with usually an extensive cutaneous eruption, or an 
accumulation of small pimples or pustules, some of which have broken, and the 
matter discharged has formed patches of crust or scab, from which the common 
name of the disease is derived. The fleece on a sheep diseased with the scab will be 
irregular in its growth, and the quality inferior; and if the complaint is severe, or 
long-continued, the health is impaired, and the animal pines away rapidly, till re- 
leased by death. The rot may be more immediately fatal, and produce greater losses 
in Europe, but here the scab is more injurious, perhaps, than all other diseases put 
together. The scab is one of the most infectious of diseases, and if introduced into 
a flock, unless the diseased animals are immediately removed, the farmer may de- 
pend on the whole flock Ffeing infected, and both sheep and wool greatly lessened in 
value. The shoulders and back are the places first usually affected ; but unless check- 
ed, it will spread until the whole surface is diseased, or the animal perishes; or such 
is the usual course of the disease. The infection seems to spread in two ways; by 
actual contact with diseased animals, or by means of the places where infected sheep 
have rubbed themselves or lain. As pay for sheep infected with scab and sold for 
sound cannot be collected in Europe, or may be recovered, much attention is paid to 



THE SCAB. 227 

the time that elapses after the infection, before the disease appears. About the 
twelfth day, it is stated by Youatt, the pustules begin to appear, and the rubbing of 
the animals shows the irritation has commenced. In four days more the pustules 
break, and the matter escaping forms the crust. 

After it was found .that the itch in the human race was caused by an insect, a 
species of acarus, it was supposed that similar cutaneous diseases might arise from 
the same source. M. Waltz, a German, was the first to establish this point and fully 
investigate its character; and numerous subsequent examinations have proven the 
correctness of his opinion. He found that the scab, like the itch, mange, &c, is 
caused by animalculce ; that the irritation caused by his burrowing in the skin forma 
the pustule, and that when this breaks, the acarus leaves his habitation, andtravel9 
to another part of the skin, and thus extends the disease, or it may be left on the 
rubbing post, or the wool of an animal coming in contact. When one of these acari 
is placed on the wool of a sound animal, they quickly travel to its roots, where the 
place of burying themselves is shown by a minute red point. About the sixteenth 
day the pimple or pustule breaks, and if the acari is a female, it appears with a mul- 
titude of young. These immediately set to work on the skin, bury themselves, and 
propagate, until the poor animal is irritated to death, or becomes encrusted with 
scab. M. Waltz satisfactorily traced the parasite through all its changes, and by 
experiments discovered all its modes of action and method of infection. He found 
that when the male acari was placed on a sheep, it burrowed, the pustule was formed, 
but the itching and scab soon disappeared without the employment of amy remedy. 
Such was not the case where the female acari was placed on the sound skin ; as with 
the breaking of the pustule, from eight to fifteen little ones made their appearance. 
M. Waltz found that the young acari kept in a dry place dried and crumbled to dust, 
but when old, that it would retain its life through the whole winter, thus proving 
the necessity of not relying on the season for their destruction, but on preparations 
of active medicine when the disease shows itself. Of the origin of these insects we 
of course can know nothing ; it is enough that we are certain when they make their 
appearance, they can be met and destroyed. 

Various remedies have been recommended for the cure of the scab; but although 
the sheep acarus is very different in form, size, and colours from the human acarus, 
the application that will destroy one will prove fatal to the other. The remedy ia 
the destruction of the acarus. 

A strong decoction of tobacco, of hellebore, or a solution of arsenic, will cure; 
but the difficulty with washes is, that the burrowed insect sometimes goes untouched, 
and unless the washing is repeated, some are apt to escape, and the disease is con- 
tinued. Owing to this, it has generally been deemed a safe and more expeditious 
mode to use the mercurial ointment. When used too strong it will salivate lambs 
or ewes. Where the cases are very bad, the ointment may consist of one part of 
mercurial ointment or unguentum, with three parts lard ; but for ordinary cases of 
scab, one part of the mercurial ointment to five of lard will be sufficiently powerful. 
The wool should be separated, a small quantity placed on the skin, and carefully 
rubbed in. The extent of the application and the quantity used will depend on the 
spread of the disease, from half an ounce to two ounces being demanded. A decoc- 
tion of tobacco or hellebore will cure, but as before remarked it may be necessary to 
repeat the washing. Arsenical applications are effectual, but dangerous, unless 
great care is used. Where an animal has been washed, or ointment applied, infection 
is generally prevented; but whenever the scab appears, and is supposed to be cured, 
examinations at the end of every few days should take place, particularly if any 



228 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 



symptoms of itching or irritation appear. The sheep-grower should pay strict atten- 
tion to the health of his animals, and such care and attention will be abundantly 
repaid. 

Below we give the figures of the acari, that produce the scab as delineated by M- 
Waltz:— 

ft ^5 oh 9 5 





(Fig. 28), the female of 366 times the natural size, larger than the male, of an oval 
form, and provided with eight fe.et, four before and four behind ; a the sucker ; b b b b 
the four anterior feet, with their trumpet-like appendices; cc the two interior hind 
feet; dd the two outward feet, the extremities of which are provided with some long 
hairs, and on other parts of the legs are shorter hairs. To these hairs the young 
ones adhere when they first escape from the pustule— c, the tail, containing the anua 
and vulva, garnished by some small hairs. (Fig. 29). The male on its back, and 
seen by the same magnifying power; a the sucker; bbbb the fore-legs, with their 
trumpet like appendices, as seen in the female cc, the two hind legs, with the same 
appendices and hairs ; d the rudiments of the abdominal feet ; e the tail. — S.] 



SECTION XIII. 



LICE, TICKS, AND FLIES. 

Sheep, and especially if they are neglected and poor, are often 
sadly annoyed by these vermin. They frequently precede the scab: 
the dreadful itching which they occasionally cause, prepares for or 
produces the scab, or they multiply most rapidly when the skin is 
fouled by the scab. The sheep-louse is too well known to every 
shepherd : it is of a brownish or reddish colour, with a flat body, and 
three legs on either side : the tick has a large round body, and small 



LICE, ETC. 229 

chest and head, which he buries deep into the skin, and by means of 
which he holds so fast as to be with difficulty torn off. The lice are 
propagated by means of eggs or nits : the origin of the tick is not so 
well understood. 

They are both injurious to the wool, and also to the health of the 
animal, from the constant irritation which they produce. The louse 
is more injurious than the tick. The tick only buries his head in 
the skin; the lice burrow, ana form their nest in or under it. They 
collect together, and a scab soon rises, whence a glutinous matter 
proceeds. The scab continues to increase until it is of the size of a 
sixpence, and undermines and destroys the roots of the wool, and the 
fleece comes off in patches. The itching then becomes intolerable, 
and the sheep rub themselves eagerly against every thing within their 
reach, and tear off the wool by mouthfuls. The lice are thickest 
about the throat and under part of the neck, and when this is the case, 
it has sometimes happened that the sheep has been seriously injured, 
or even destroyed in a very curious way. He bends his head down 
as closely as he can to get at the vermin, and then some of the wool 
entangling itself about the teeth, the head becomes fixed, and the 
animal is said to be bridled. If he is not observed and relieved, the 
head will be held until the muscles are seriously injured, so that he 
can no longer comfortably bend his neck to graze, or until he is abso- 
lutely destroyed. 

Many washes have been invented to destroy these insects, but few 
of them have perfectly succeeded. That which seems to have the 
best effect is thus composed : — 

RECIPE ( No. 17). 

Arsenical Wash for Sheep Lice. — Take arsenic, two pounds ; soft soap, four pounds : 
dissolve in thirty gallons of water. 

The infected sheep should be immersed in this, the head only being 
kept out; and while he is in the liquid, the fleece should be well 
rubbed and moulded, so that the wash shall penetrate fairly to the 
skin. When taken out of the tub, the fluid should be pressed as 
thoroughly as possible out of the fleece, which will then do for another 
of the flock; and the sheep should be kept from cold and wet for a 
few days. 

Other persons prefer the following lotion: — 

RECIPE (No. 18). 
Mercurial Wash for Sheep Lice. — Take corrosive sublimate, one ounce ; spirits of 
wine, two ounces ; rub the corrosive sublimate in the spirit until it is dissolved, and 
then add — cream of tartar, one ounce ; bay salt, four ounces: dissolve the whole in 
two quarts of water, and apply a little of it with a small piece of sponge wherever 
the lice appear. 

These washes, however, are not always safe, and they are very 
troublesome in their application. The ointment which I have re- 
commended for the scab is more easily applied, and more effectual. 
It may be rendered more fluid, and consequently more easily rubbed 
in, by being mixed with an equal weight of neat's-foot oil ; and it 
20 



230 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

should be as carefully applied over every part as it would be in the 
act of smearing, for the vermin will speedily collect and burrow in 
any spot which the ointment may not have reached. 

The tick is many times as large as the louse, but not so frequently 
found. When not gorged with blood it is flat, but when bloated it is 
round, and brown or black, and varies in size from a pin's head to a 
small bean. When one of them fastens itself upon the sheep, it 
seems to retain precisely the same situation for some weeks, or even 
months, and yet the young ticks are found round the old ones, resem- 
bling numerous red points, but becoming brown as they increase in 
size. They, too, select the sheep that is debilitated by want of pro- 
per nourishment or by disease. 

The tick is more frequent on some grounds than on others. On 
some farms, even although badly managed, it is seldom found ; on 
others it is scarcely to be got rid of, even although the sheep should 
be healthy. It would seem as though it were bred in the ground, 
and that one part only of its existence is spent on the sheep. Some 
shepherds set diligently to work, and pick them off. This, however, 
is an almost endless task. Others dress the sheep with turpentine, 
which usually destroys them; but the scab ointment is the surest 
remedy, as well as preventive. 

The sheep is tormented by two species of flies. The one endea- 
vours to lay its eggs on the muzzle, and thence, speedily hatched by 
the moisture and warmth of the breath, the animalcule, or larva, 
creeps up the nostril, and finds its way into the frontal sinuses, or 
some of the cells above the nose, and there fastens itself, and lives 
and grows, until it becomes a large worm : it then creeps again down 
the nostril, assumes the form of a grub, burrows in the earth, and in 
due time appears in the form of a fly. It is only during the time of 
the depositing of the egg that the sheep are disturbed or injured, and 
then they may be seen huddling together on the barest part of the 
pasture, with their noses close to the ground, and by continual shaking 
of the head and stamping, endeavouring to prevent the depositing of 
the egg. When the little worm has reached its destined situation, it 
seems no longer to trouble the animal; and these bois are found in 
the heads of some of the largest and fattest sheep. This is the des- 
tined place of this worm, and nature would not make it destructive, 
or even much annoying, to the animal by which it is to be supported. 

Another species of fly, or perhaps several other species, are far 
more troublesome and injurious. At some uncertain time after shear- 
ing, and seemingly oftener occurring to those that were early than to 
those that were later sheared, the sheep will be struck with the fly. 
This will be discovered by the uneasiness of the animal. It is not 
the itching of scab, for it is before the usual appearance of that dis- 
ease, and when the sheep was shorn there was not the least appear- 
ance of it. The sheep will hang down their heads, stand for awhile 
as if listening, then bow up their backs, violently shake their tails, 
stamp furiously w T ith their feet, gallop away for a short distance, and 



LICE, ETC, 231 

then turn round and try to bite the affected part. The tail is evidently 
the part oftenest attacked. 

On being caught, there will probably be found little lumps or 
bladders on various parts, but particularly about the tail ; and if these 
are pierced, they will be found to contain numerous little maggots. 
If there are any sores about the animal made in the shearing, they 
will become full of maggots in different stages of maturity, and these 
vermin will crawl through the wool, over almost every part of the body. 

In warm weather they are peculiarly annoying and destructive. I 
have seen them spreading from the root of the tail to the head of the 
sheep, deepening every sore, eating even through the sound skin in 
various places, and penetrating to the very entrails. 

A sheep struck by the fly should not be neglected a single day, for 
the maggots will sometimes do irreparable mischief in a very short 
space of time. The wool should be cut off round the places where 
the maggots seem principally to prevail, and they should be carefully 
picked out : but this will not effectually destroy them ; for many will 
crawl far away out of the reach of the looker. Some ointment or pow- 
der must be applied, which will at the same time heal the sores and 
destroy the maggot. An application of this kind may be obtained 
in some of the preparations of lead. The following will be very 
useful : — 

RECIPE (No. 19). 

Fly Powder for Sheep. — Take white lead, two pounds ; red lead, one pound ; and 
mix them together. 

While one man holds the sheep by the head, let another have a 
dredger or pepper-box containing some of the powder in his right 
hand, and a stick in his left : let him introduce the stick near the tail 
of the animal, and draw it gently along the back as far as the4iead, 
raising the wool, and scattering in the powder as he proceeds. Then 
let him dip his hand in some of the coarsest whale oil, and smooth 
down the wool again, smearing the whole of the fleece with the oil. 
This will not only destroy the maggots, but prevent the future attack 
of the fly. There are few flies that will approach anything that 
smells strongly of this oil : it would, therefore, be a good practice to 
smear the sheep with a little of it after shearing. No injury could 
possibly be done to the wool, but, on the contrary, its growth would 
be promoted. 

If, however, the flies have made any deep wounds or ulcers, some 
of the powder should be mixed up with tar, and the ointment gently 
rubbed on the sores. 

[Judge Bostwick, of Delaware county, N. Y., dips his lambs in a decoction of to- 
bacco, just strong enough to kill the ticks in a minute or two. One man takes the 
Iamb by the forelegs and head, and dips him in the vessel so as just to leave the head 
out. It is then raised and held over the kettle while another presses the liquor out 
of the fleece back into the kettle. 

Maggots originating from fly-blows on wounds, may be prevented by dressing the 
wound with tar, and may be destroyed by an application of honey, when spirits of 
turpentine would prove ineffectual. — S. 



232 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

I 

SECTION XIV. 

SORE HEADS. 

This disease is connected with, or often produced by, the striking 
of the fly, and especially in woody countries. Next to the tail, the 
head is the part most frequently and seriously attacked, and in defend- 
ing themselves from their tormentors, the sheep are continually 
striking their heads with their hind feet, until at length a considerable 
sore or ulcer is formed. No sooner is this done, than the fly perse- 
cutes the poor animal with tenfold fury, anxious to lay its eggs on or 
near the wound ; and the ulcer will often spread so far and so rapidly, 
as to be very difficult to heal, and occasionally it will destroy the 
sheep. 

The first thing to be done is to procure a cap or covering for the 
head, made of soft leather, or of brown paper, if leather cannot be 
procured. This should be cut so as to protect the whole of the head, 
and yet not to come too close to the eyes. Then the following oint- 
ment must be prepared : — 

RECIPE (No. 20). 
Ohtment for Sore Heads.— Take black pitch, two pounds ; tar, one pound ; flowers 
of sulphur, one pound. Melt them in an iron pot over a very slow fire, stirring to- 
gether the ingredients as they begin to melt, but carefully watching the compound, 
and removing the pot from the fire the moment the ingredients are well mixed, and 
before they begin to boil, for they would then rapidly swell to an extraordinary ex- 
tent, and the whole mass would run over into the fire. 

While this ointment is warm and soft, it should be thickly spread 
upondthe leather, and the cap fitted to the head. If this be done in 
the evening, when the fly begins to cease to torment the sheep, the 
animal will be quiet, and the ointment will gradually cool, and stick 
close to the head. 

Some spread the ointment over the head without the cap, making 
a kind of charge, a few flocks of wool being scattered over the top 
of it. ; and if it should be somewhat too liquid for this purpose, it is 
stiffened by the addition of a little yellow resin. It is difficult, how- 
ever, to confine the ointment to the sore when it is thus applied, and 
it is very apt to run over the eyelid and the face, to the great annoy- 
ance of the animal. 

In some parts of Scotland there is another disease of the head that 
is speedily fatal. If the sheep are suffered to rest for the night near 
the summit of the Grampians, or the hills of Galloway, the head will 
become enormously swelled, and ulcers will break out, as if the animal 
had been bitten by a venomous reptile. A great portion of the scalp 
often comes off, and the animal generally dies. The shepherds there 
call it the head-ill, and the malady is kept from spreading only by 
removing the flock from these elevated and dangerous spots. The 
cause of this disease is uncertain : probably it is produced by the eat- 
ing of some poisonous plant. 



DIARRHCEA, OR PURGING. 233 

SECTION XV. 

DIARRHCEA, OR PURGING. 

The full-grown sheep is almost as subject to purging as is the 
lamb, but it is not so difficult to be cured, nor is it so fatal. A sheep 
can scarcely be turned into fresh pasture in the spring without begin- 
ning to scour, and especially when warm weather is succeeding to 
cold, and the grass shoots rapidly; but this in most cases is bene- 
ficial rather than injurious. It rouses the digestive organs to full and 
healthy action, and the sheep that scours a little when first turned 
into the meadow or on the marsh, is sure to thrive more quickly after- 
wards. The purging, however, must not be too violent, nor continue 
too long. 

The looseness caused by feeding on young succulent grass, seldom 
lasts more than a few days; but if it should continue longer, the 
sheep must be removed to inferior pasture, and a little hay allowed 
them if they can be induced to eat it : some dry sound old seeds should 
also be put before them, and the following powder administered : — 

RECIPE (No. 21). 
Jlstringcvt. Poicdn-for Sheep. — Take prepared chalk, a quarter of an ounce; ginger, 
half a drachm ; catechu, powdered, half a drachm ; powdered opium, two grains. Give 
this in a little gruel once or twice daily until the purging abates. 

A favourite remedy with some farmers, and succeeding in slight 
cases, but inefficacious in severe ones, is suet boiled in milk. Others 
give a very curious medicine: it consists of the lime dug out of an 
old wall, and mixed with tar. What good purpose the tar can an- 
swer, I cannot conceive, and the lime would be superseded by the 
prepared chalk recommended in the last recipe. 

When the disease abates, the sheep must not be turned out again 
on their former pasture, but on the best old grass land which the farm 
will yield ; and even then, a little good hay and corn should be daily 
allowed them. 

The farmer should be careful that he does not confound the conse- 
quence of the diarrhoea with costiveness. When there is much mu- 
cous discharge, it is very sticky, and adheres to the wool under the 
tail, and glues it to the rump, thus forming a mechanical obstruction 
to the passage of the dung. The sheep straining very hard, careless 
observers have supposed that he was costive, and have given him a 
strong dose of ph} r sic, and thus added fuel to the fire. 

There is but one form of the disease under which all hope is pre- 
cluded, and that is when it is connected with chronic cough or con- 
firmed hoose. That animal may be patched up for a little while, but 
he will most assuredly perish. 

It is necessary to make a distinction between diarrhoea and dysenr 
tery, the latter being attended with considerable fever, and the evacua- 
20* 



234 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

tions are often slimy and bloody, and the disease sometimes terminates 
fatally in a few days. It sometimes follows diarrhoea, but is gene- 
rally produced by change of food or pasture and exposure to bad 
weather. Lambs are rather more liable to the disease than sheep, 
and it has been found to attack them very frequently on coming from 
low lands to high. The treatment should consist in giving mild laxa- 
tives, such as — 

RECIPE (No. 22). 

Take linseed-oil, two ounces ; powdered opium, two grains ; to be mixed with lin- 
Beed-tea. Linseed and oatmeal gruel should be given several times a day, and the 
Becond day the medicine No. 21 should be administered. 



SECTION XVI. 

INDIGESTION AND DEBILITY. 

Bad management, and that alone, causes the appearance of these 
complaints in a flock. When sheep have been over-driven, and ex- 
cessively wearied ; or ewes have had twins, and have afterwards 
been kept with their lambs on scanty pasture, where there was not 
enough even for the mother; or have yeaned very early, before there 
was any flush of grass ; or, during the winter, have not yet been sup- 
plied with a proper quantity of hay or corn — in all these cases, the 
sheep are apt to pine away. They do not seem to relish their food, 
but wander over the field picking a little here and there, the belly 
being tucked up and the back bowed. 

The remedy for this is simple enough if the sheep have not been 
neglected too long. It is plain that the powers of digestion are 
weakened or suspended, and the object to be accomplished is to rouse 
them once more to their proper tone and action. A mild purgative 
should lay the foundation for this. Half the Purging Drink (No. 2, 
p. 200) should be given, and this followed up by tonics or stomachics. 
Some farmers content themselves with giving a little good caudle for 
two or three successive days, and with general good effect, except 
that its sweetness is objectionable. The following mixture will be 
preferable : — 

RECIPE (No. 23). 

Tonic Drink for Debility. — Take gentian and powdered caraway-seeds, of each an 
ounce ; Colombo and ginger, of each half an ounce. Pour a quart of boiling water 
upon them, and let the infusion stand three days, well stirring it every day. Then 
pour off the clear liquid, and bottle it for use. Give a table-spoonful daily, in a little 
gruel, mixed with an equal quantity of good ale. 

Repeat the half-dose of physic a week afterwards, and put the 
sheep on fresh and good pasture. 



BLINDNESS. 235 

SECTION XVII. 

BL INDNESS. 

Sheep are more subject to diseases of the eye that lead on to blind- 
ness than many persons who are most accustomed to them imagine. 
It is a singular circumstance, and not so well known as it ought to he, 
that if the eyes of a flock of sheep are carefully examined, half of 
them will exhibit either disease then present, or indications of that 
which existed at no very distant date. 

Inflammation of the eye, which constitutes the commencement of 
the disease, may arise from various causes. Sheep driven fast to a 
distant market have suddenly become blind ; those who have been 
chased about by dogs, have at no great distance of time lost their 
sight, and especially if, in both cases, they were afterwards exposed 
in a damp and bleak situation. The violent driving, while it produced 
fever, determined an undue quantity of blood to the head : it pressed, 
or perhaps was effused upon the origins of the nerves of the eye ; and 
the after neglect confirmed the fever, and aggravated the mischief. 

At *her times, this seems to be an epidemic complaint. The 
greater part of the flock is suddenly afflicted with sore and inflamed 
eyes, and particularly at the' latter end of the year, and when the 
weather has been variable, yet cold and moist. Some have thought 
that this complaint is infectious, but it is at least epidemic. A white 
film gradually spreads over the eyes, which the animal generally 
keeps closed, while at. first a watery fluid, and afterwards a thicker 
mucous matter, is discharged from them. The film increases until 
the whole of the eye is of a pearly whiteness. If proper means are 
adopted, and often if nothing is done, inflammation abates, and the 
eye begins to clear, usually commencing at the upper part of the eye, 
and gradually proceeding downward until the whole of the organ is 
once more transparent, with the exception, perhaps, of a diminutive 
spot or two, or a discoloration of part of the iris. Many of the sheep, 
however, do not perfectly recover the sight of both eyes, and some 
remain totally blind, either from the continuance of the opacity, or 
that, while the eye becomes clear, the optic nerve is palsied, the pupil 
does not dilate, and there is guita sere?ia. 

The first thing to be done is to bleed from the vein at the corner of 
the eye. There will be the double advantage of bleeding generally, 
and of drawing blood from the inflamed part. The shepherd should 
take the sheep between his knees, and then, placing the animal with 
his rump against the wall, he will have full command of him. If he 
now presses upon the vein with his left hand, about two inches from 
the angle of the jaw, and opposite to the third grinder, he will see it 
rise as it descends from the corner of the eye, and runs along the 
cheek. He should puncture it about an inch or rather less from the 
eye. Some shepherds recommend that the blood should be suffered 



236 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

to run into the eye, but this is a ridiculous notion. It must do harm 
rather than good. 

Next give the Purgative Drink (No. 2, p. 200), and repeat if ne- 
cessary, in three or four days. No other medicine will be required. 

No stimulating application should be made to the eye. It is too 
often the practice among shepherds to apply sugar or salt, or white 
vitriol: but this worse than uselessly tortures the poor animal; it 
increases the inflammation, and causes blindness where it would not 
otherwise have occurred. A drop or two of the vinous tincture of 
opium may be introduced into the eye, tw r o or three times daily; or 
a tea-spoonful of laudanum may be added to a half pint of water, and 
the eyes frequently washed with it. 

It will be quite time enough to think of stimulants if the eye should 
remain cloudy after the inflammation has subsided, and then the fol- 
lowing is the strongest that can be permitted. 

RECIPE (No. 22). 
Lotion for Cloudiness on the Eye. — Take corrosive sublimate, four grains ; rub it 
down with spirit of wine, half an ounce ; and add water, a pint. 

Although, perhaps, it would be prudent to send the sheep decidedly 
and conrirniedly blind to the butcher, lest they should perchance be 
drowned in a ditch, or some serious accident should occur to them, 
yet it is pleasing to observe how well they shift for themselves, and 
what little harm comes to them. For the first few days they are 
awkward and confused, but, after that, they keep to their own walk, 
and take with the others, or even by themselves, the accustomed way 
home ; and, some one of the flock takes the blind sheep under his 
protection, and is always at his side in danger, and tells him the way 
that he is to p;o by manv a varied and intelligible bleat. 

[Grub in the head of sheep, is a troublesome disease in some parts of the United 
States. 

The editor of the Cultivator, Vol. X., says : — The Grub in the head of a sheep, is 
the larva or maggot of a fly. which deposites its egg in the nose, generally in the 
month of August. The egg soon hatches, and the young maggot soon makes its way 
up into the cavities called the frontal sinuses, where it attains its growth, causing 
constant irritation and disease, and not unfrequently death. Arrived at its growth, 
it falls to the earth, enters it, and in a short time emerges a perfect insect or fly, 
ready to commence the career of re-production and destruction. We formerly lost 
many sheep from the grub, and could find no cure for them, or hut very partial ones» 
after it became evident they were diseased. Our course was preventative. About 
the time the fly made its appearance, which is easily known by their exhibiting great 
alarm, running from one part of the field to another, with their noses close to the 
ground, &c, we caught one sheep, and with a wooden spatula, or flat stick, rubbed 
the nose with tar. We then placed tar at the bottom of our salting troughs, over 
which the salt was sprinkled, and this brought their noses frequently in contact with 
the tar. This course we found a great preventative. Sheep, during the period they 
are exposed to the attacks of the fly, should have access to a ploughed field, or if such 
is not convenient, a few furrows should occasionally be opened in their pastures for 
their benefit. Inhaling the dust, or rubbing their noses in it, renders the mucus dis- 



FRACTURES, ETC. 237 

agreeable to the fly, or enables the sheep to expel the larva when deposited. With 
these preventatives, we have rarely lost a sheep from the grub, and think, that in 
most cases, they will be effectual. — S.] 



SECTION XVIII. 

FRACTURES, WOUNDS, AND BITES. 

It is not often that the sheep gets a broken bone by any fault of 
his own, but the shepherd is sometimes a brutal fellow. If he is a 
youngster, he is too frequently designedly mischievous ; and in the 
straggle between a sheep and the dog a leg has now and then been 
broken. The treatment of fracture below the elbow or the hock is 
easy enough. The broken limb must not be roughly stretched or 
handled, but the divided edges of the bone must be brought gently 
and as perfectly opposite, and close, and fitting again to each other 
as possible, and kept together by some strips of adhesive plaister or 
pitch spread upon leather wound round the part. Over this splints 
should be placed, reaching a little beyond the joint, above and below, 
and these confined with more plaister, or with w r axed thread. A little 
lint or linen rag should have been previously placed under the end of 
the splints, to prevent them from excoriating or injuring the part 
beneath. This being done, the leg should not be meddled with until 
the bandage becomes loose, which will be in about ten days. The 
splints must be replaced once, and at the expiration of another ten 
days the edges of the bone will generally be found to have united : 
the animal, however, should be kept for a little while longer as quiet 
as possible, and if the bone is not quite firm, the strips, without the 
splints, should be once more bound round it. 

Sometimes considerable swelling will take place after the splints 
have been employed. They may have been put on a little too tight, 
or they do not press equally. They should not, however, be taken 
off at once, for the bones beginning to unite may again be separated 
during the removal of the bandages; but, with a sharp and strong 
pair of scissors, two or three notches should be cut through the edge 
of the bandage above and below. This will generally afford suffi- 
cient room for the re-establishment of the circulation, and the swelling 
will subside, without the fracture having been disturbed. 

If it should be a compound fracture, that is, if a portion of the bone 
should protrude through the skin, either the setting of the bones must 
be deferred until the wound is healed, or the bandages must be so 
applied, that the wound can be readily got at for the purpose of dress- 
ing. This, however, is so difficult a matter, that it will be prudent to 
destroy the animal that has a bad compound fracture. 



238 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

Sheep are faroftener subject to wounds than they ought to be, from 
the ferocity of the shepherd's dog, encouraged by his brutal master 
needlessly to worry the flock. They are too frequently seriously 
lamed, and the ears almost torn from their heads. The proprietor of 
sheep should never forgive wanton cruelty of this nature. 

The treatment of wounds in sheep is very simple, and consists 
mostly in avoiding the burning irons and caustics, of which the far- 
rier, and sometimes the shepherd, are too fond. 

The first thing is to clean the wound thoroughly with a sponge and 
warm water, and to remove those parts which are much lacerated, or 
in a manner torn off. If it is a simple cut wound and the edges are 
not far separated, all that will be necessary to be done will be to 
apply daily a little tincture of aloes, and to cover the part that the 
flies may not deposit their eggs on the sore. If it is a wide and gap- 
ing wound, the edges of it must be brought as nearly and accurately 
together as possible, and confined by one or two or more stitches 
passed through them with a crooked needle and waxed thread, and 
which the shepherd should always carry with him. The only dress- 
ing wanted here will be the tincture of aloes, with occasional foment- 
ations if there is much inflammation ; but the wound should be more 
carefully covered from the flies, either by a bandage or pitch plaister, 
or for a small wound, a little tar will answer. 

No dependence is to be placed on the accounts which are given by 
some authors of the udders of the ewes being sucked by snakes. The 
reptile has never been seen thus employed ; but sheep are sometimes 
bitten by the viper, and a few have been destroyed by the swelling 
having been neglected, and inflammation widely spreading. It is 
difficult at all times to discover the accident. Whenever a sheep is 
lamed, the affected limb should be well examined; and at other 
times, if he is evidently ill, and the illness accompanied by local or 
general swelling, careful search should be made into the nature of 
the mischief. The wound inflicted by a viper will be very small, 
but there will be swelling and heat about it, and a great deal of ten- 
derness. 

The best application is oil of turpentine, which should be well rub- 
bed over and around the part; while a quarter of an ounce of harts- 
horn, and four ounces of sweet oil, may be given to the animal, and 
repeated in half an hour if the part should continue to swell, or the 
sheep appear to be seriously ill. Some shepherds, when they sus- 
pect an accident of this kind, rub the part well with an onion, and 
doubtless with considerable effect : the turpentine, however, is more 
effectual, and should be obtained as speedily as possible. 



GENERAL CAUTIONS. 239 

SECTION XIX. 

GENERAL CAUTIONS. 

I will conclude this account of the diseases and treatment of sheep 
:vith a few general observations, which may be useful to the farmer 
as* well as the veterinary surgeon. 

It is an old maxim, and a most excellent one, that prevention is in 
every case far better than the cure ; and there cannot be the least 
doubt that by a little attention, and the exercise of common humanity 
towards these useful and neglected animals, there need not be half 
the diseases, and scarcely a fourth part of the deaths that occur. 

In the first place the farmer should look more than he does to the 
actual state, and health, and comfort of his flock. Instead of riding 
or walking in among them every day, and, in a manner, making every 
animal pass muster before him, he frequently contents himself with 
looking at them from a distance, or perhaps he does not look at them 
at all for many a day. 

He deserves to be unfortunate who, in the lambing season, is not 
early and late among his ewes. Many a ewe is lost by rough hand- 
ling; many more by not receiving the requisite assistance in difficult 
parturition: many a lamb is deserted by its mother; many a one pal- 
sied by lying on the cold wet ground, and many more through want 
of being frequently and carefully suckled. 

The owner will be induced by a regard to his own interest to take 
into due consideration many a circumstance connected with the season 
and state of his flock, that would never enter into the mind of the 
looker-on, but on which the comfort, and thriving, and perhaps the 
very life of the sheep depend. Many a lamb dies for want of a little 
shelter in an inclement season; but many more die when the winter 
is mild, and the spring is early. In the one case they are lost from 
cold and starvation: in the other from being in too high condition, 
and having too much milk. The shepherd will often go on in the 
same regular way whatever be the state of the season : it is the pro- 
prietor alone who will have sufficient consideration to allow additional 
food and shelter in the one case, and in the other to stock as hardly 
as may be, before and during the lambing. The proprietor alone will 
consider as much as he ought when he should suckle, and feed, and 
shelter the weakly; and keep back and prevent the suckling, and 
milk the dam, and stock hard, the lambs being thriving and the wea- 
ther kindly. These are affairs about which the generality of lookers- 
on scarcely concern themselves, and into which the best of them will 
not enter so anxiously as the master. 

The most important circumstance to be attended to at all times, 
and particularly at the lambing season, is shelter, — not confinement, 
but shelter from the searching north and east wind. There should not 
be a lambing-field without a shed in it, or at least without some place 



240 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 

surrounded •with brushwood faggots on the north and east sides at 
least, if not all round ; and into which the weakly lambs and ewes 
may be driven, and in stormy weather the whole flock may take re- 
fuge with manifest advantage. 

Next in importance to shelter stands food. The animal may be 
stinted in his growth, and prepared for scab by starvation ; or he may 
be inevitably destroyed b) r over-feeding, or by sudden change of food. 
The unhealthy seasons for sheep, putting the rot for a moment out 
of the question, are not the winter, when no grass grows, nor the 
summer, when it is all burned up, but the spring and the autumn, 
when there is plenty, and too much to eat. They contrive to live, if 
not to fatten in the two former seasons, but they perish from excess 
or change of food during the latter two. 

There is one disease, however, which is caught, or the foundation 
for which is laid in the summer, and that is the rot; but from what 
has been stated with regard to this disease, a proper system of hus- 
bandry, and attention to little unsuspected, but most dangerous, nooks 
and corners, would materially limit the ravages of the rot. 

The grand fault in the management of sheep, and of all domestic 
animals, is, that the farmer pays so little personal attention to them, 
and pursues one undeviating course, the same that he learned from 
his father, whatever be the state of his flock, and whatever the state 
of the season. To this must be added — the most absurd, and the 
most injurious of all — a spirit of fatalism ; a submission, not without 
repining, but without an effort to avert them, to many and serious 
losses, which a little care and personal trouble might have prevented. 



ON THE 



DISEASES OF SWINE. 



It is only very lately that any persons have condescended to take 
into consideration the maladies of swine, and they are little under- 
stood. The diseases that have been recognised are not numerous, 
but they are exceedingly fatal ; and that fatality is increased by the 
difficulty of managing these unruly animals. 

The most frequent disease, and as fatal as any, is — 

INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 

This complaint is known among the breeders and fatteners of swine 
by the term of rising of the lights. There seems to be a peculiar 
tendency in every malady of this animal to take on a highly inflam- 
matory character. It is the consequence of the forcing system that is 
adopted in the fattening of the hog. It resembles the blood or inflam- 
matory fever of oxen and sheep, — a general and high degree of fever, 
produced on a system already strongly disposed to take on intense 
inflammatory action from the slightest causes. Every little cold is 
apt to degenerate into inflammation of the lungs in the fatted or fat- 
tening hog ; and so many cases of this sometimes occur in the same 
establishment, or the same neighbourhood— in fact among those who 
are exposed to the same exciting cause, that the disease is mistaken 
for an epidemic. There is no doubt that when this heaving of the 
lights begins to appear in a herd of swine, a great many of them are 
sooner or later affected by it, and die. It is the cough or cold that is 
epidemic, but it is the plethora and inflammatory state of the animals 
that cause it to be so general as well as fatal. 

The early symptom is cough. A cough in a hog is always a suspi- 
cious circumstance, and should be early and promptly attended to. 
The disease is rapid in its progress. The animal heaves dreadfully 
at the flanks ; he has a most distressing cough, which sometimes 
almost suffocates him, and he refuses to eat. The principal guiding 
symptom will be the cough getting worse and worse, and becoming 
evidently connected with a great deal of fever. 

In many cases congestion takes place in the lungs, and the animal 
dies in three or four days: in others he appears for a while to be 
getting better ; but there is a sudden relapse, a frequent dry husky 
cough comes on, there is little appetite, rapid wasting, and the hog 
dies in a few weeks, evidently consumptive, 

21 (241) 



242 DISEASES OP SWINE. 

The first thing that is to be done is to bleed, and the most conve- 
nient place to bleed the hog is from the palate. If an imaginary line 
is drawn from between the first and second front middle teeth, and 
extending backward an inch along the palate, and the palate is there 
cut deeply, with a lancet or fleam, plenty of blood will be obtained. 
A larger quantity of blood, however, can be abstracted from the vein 
on the inside of the fore-arm, about an inch above the knee. The 
application of cold water with a sponge will generally stop the bleed 
ing without difficulty, or at least so far arrest it, that no harm will be 
done, if it should continue a little while longer. An assistant may 
easily open the mouth sufficiently for all this by means of a halteT or 
stout stick, but beyond this the swine is an awkward patient to man- 
age. He will struggle obstinately against every attempt to drench 
him, and the inflammation may be aggravated by the contest. It 
will, therefore, be necessary in the majority of cases to endeavour to 
cheat him by mixing his medicine with his food. 

Here we must recollect the nature of his stomach : it is not of that 
insensible character and difficult to be acted upon or nauseated as in 
the cow and the sheep, but it approaches as nearly as possible to the 
structure of that of the human being; and we must adapt our medi- 
cine accordingly. The emetic tartar must be omitted from our Fever 
Medicine, or it would sadly vomit the patieut. The following may 
be given :— 

RECIPE (No. 1). 
Fever Medicine for Swine.— Take digitalis, three grains; antimonial powder, six 
grains; nitre, half a drachm. Mix, and give in a little warm swill, or milk, or 
mash. 

In the greater number of cases the animal will readily take this : 
but if he is so ill that nutriment of every kind is refused, he must be 
drenched. 

This should be repeated morning, noon, and night, until the in- 
flammation is abated. A purgative should quickly follow, and we 
have those for the hog which are mild as well as effectual, and from 
which no danger can result. The Epsom salts may be given in doses 
of from one to three ounces, and they will communicate a not un- 
pleasant or unusual flavour to his broth or swill. 

If this inflammation of the lungs in the hog rivals in the speed 
with which it runs its course, and in its intensity and fatality, the 
blood, or inflammatory fever of oxen and sheep, no time should be 
lost in adopting the proper measures, and the bleeding should be 
copious, and the medicine given in doses sufficiently powerful. When 
the disease lingers on, and the dry husky cough remains, and the 
animal is evidently wasting, medicine will be in a manner useless, 
and warmth and cleanliness, and food that has no heating quality, 
afford the only chance of cure. 

APOPLEXY AN0 INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN 

In distilleries, and where many .hogs are kept, and too well kept, 



MEASLES. 243 

this is a very destructive, and not unfrequent malady. If the swine 
had been carefully observed, it would have been seen that they were 
making a more than usually rapid progress, but there was at the same 
time a laziness, or heaviness, or stupidity, about them. A dose or 
two of physic would have removed this, and not have interfered with 
the fattening ; indeed they would have thriven the better after it. If 
this, however, has been neglected, the apoplexy will probably be 
established. The swine, in the act of feeding, or when moving across 
the sty, will fall suddenly, as if struck with lightning. He will be 
motionless for a little while, and then convulsions will come on, 
strong and dreadful: the eyes will seem protruded, the head and neck 
will swell, and the veins of the neck will be brought into sight, not- 
withstanding the mass of fat with which they may be covered. In 
the midst of his struggles the animal will be perfectly unconscious. 
He will often die in a few minutes, or should he recover, he will be 
strangely exhausted, and some internal injury will be evidently done, 
so that he will afterwards be very subject to returns of these attacks 
either of apoplexy or of fits. 

The course here is plain enough. He should be bled, and bled 
copiously. Indeed the blood should be suffered to flow as long as it 
will. Two or three ounces of Epsom salts should then be given ; the 
quantity and the heating character of the food should be diminished, 
and a couple of drachms of sulphur given daily in the first meal. 

When apoplexy or fits have once appeared in a sty, they spread 
like wild-fire. There is nothing contagious in them, but there is the 
power of sympathy acting upon animals become too disposed to in- 
flammation and fever. The most forward of them should be disposed 
of as soon as possible. 

The habit of fits once established cannot easily be broken, and the 
only way to prevent the continuance of much annoyance is, to sepa- 
rate those that are oftenest affected from the rest, and to fatten them 
as soon as possible. 

MEASLES. 

This is an inflammatory disease, not always indeed discovered 
during the life of the animal, but plain enough after death, and very 
considerably diminishing the value of the carcass. The red and 
pimpled appearance of the skin, or of the cellular substance between 
the flesh and the skin, sufficiently marks the disease. It shows that 
there has been general inflammation, either resulting from the fatten- 
ing process being carried too far, or, much oftener, from the animal 
having too suddenly been taken from poor keep, and suffered to have 
as much as it will eat of highly nutritious and stimulating food. The 
measles are very seldom or never fatal, but the disease may generally 
be recognized by the pink blush of the skin, or of some parts of it, 
and by the hog rubbing himself more than usual, while the skin is 
free from pimples and scurf. The remedy would be a less quantity 



244 DISEASES OP SWINE. 

of food, or of not so stimulating a character, and occasional doses of 
Epsom salts or sulphur. 

MANGE. 

Few domesticated animals are so subject to this loathsome disease 
as the hog if he is neglected and filthily kept ; but in a well cleaned 
and well managed piggery it is rarely or never seen, unless some, 
whose blood from generation to generation has been tainted with it, 
should be incautiously admitted. A mangy hog cannot possibly 
thrive well. His foul and scurfy hide will never loosen so as to suffer 
the accumulation of flesh and fat under it. 

Except it is hereditary, it may, although with some trouble, be 
perfectly eradicated. The first thing to be done is to clean the hog 
well ; without this all external applications and internal medicines 
will be thrown away. . The animal must be scrubbed all over with a 
good strong soap-lather, and when he is well dried with wisps of 
straw he will be ready for the ointment, and no better one can be used 
than the Mild Ointment for Scab in Sheep (Recipe No. 14, p. 225). 
A little of this should be well rubbed all over him every second or 
third day ; but at the same time internal medicine should not be 
omitted. There is no animal in which it is more necessary to attack 
this and similar diseases constitutionally. 

RECIPE (No. 2). 
Alterative Powder for S-wine. — Take flowers of sulphur, a quarter of an ounce; 
.ffithiop's mineral, three grains ; nitre, and cream of tartar, half a drachm. Mix, 
and give daily in a little thickened gruel or wash. 

This, like the scab in sheep, is a very infectious disease, and care 
should be taken to scour the sty well with soap, and afterwards to 
wash it with a solution of chloride of lime, as recommended at page 
225. The rubbing-post, that useful, but too often neglected article 
of furniture in every sty, should particularly be attended to. 

SORE EARS. 

There are very often troublesome cracks and sores at the back of 
the large lop-ears of some breeds. If there is any disposition to mange, 
it is most evident about the ears of these animals, and the mischief is 
sadly aggravated when brutes in human shape set every ferocious 
dog at the stray pig, the favourite hold of which is the ear. The 
Healing Cleansing Ointment for Cattle (Recipe No. 10, p. 53) will 
most readily heal the sores. 

PI GGING. 

The sow usually goes with pig four months, but there is more 
irreo-ularity in her time than in that of any other of our domesticated 
quadrupeds. A week or ten days before her pigging she should be 
separated from the rest, otherwise the young ones would probably be 
devoured as soon as they are dropped ; and if she shows any dispo- 
sition to destroy them, or if she has ever done so, she should be care- 



QUINSY. 245 

fully watched, a muzzle should be put upon her, and her little ones 
should be smeared with train oil and aloes as soon as possible. 

The teats of the sow will sometimes swell, and hard knots may be 
felt in them as in the garget of cattle. The treatment should be nearly 
the same except that bleeding is scarcely requisite. A dose of physic, 
however, is indispensable. The Garget Ointment for Cattle (Recipe 
No. 24, p. 69) may be rubbed with advantage into the teats, which 
should be carefully wiped or washed before the young ones are per- 
mitted to suck again ; indeed they will not suck while any unusual 
smell remains about the teats. The milk should also be gently but 
well pressed out of the diseased teats. 

When it is wished to spay a breeding sow, in order that she may 
be put up for fattening, it may be done while she is suckling. The 
young pigs may be cut at three or four weeks old : they should never 
be suffered to suck longer than two months ; and they may be rung 
as soon as convenient after weaning. No hog should escape ringing, 
even if he is destined to live in the sty. It is the only way to keep 
him quiet, and will contribute materially to his thriving. 

QUINSY. 

This disease in the hog is compounded of sore throat and enlarge- 
ment of the glands of the throat, and is something like strangles in 
the horse — inflammation and enlargement of the cellular substance 
between the skin and muscles under the lower jaw. The progress of 
the malady is rapid, and the swelling is sometimes so great as to 
prevent the breathing, and consequently to suffocate the animal. To 
a skin so thick as that of the hog it is useless to make any external 
application. The patient should be bled ; two ounces of salts should 
be given, and half-ounce doses repeated every six hours, until the 
bowels are well opened ; while warm weak wash, or milk and water, 
should be occasionally poured into the trough. It is not often a dan- 
gerous disease if remedies are early adopted. 

[Governor Vance, of Ohio, now in Congress, has been very observant of the dis- 
eases to which domestic animals are subject in that State and the west. These sheets 
having been submitted to his inspection, he answered : — 

Washington, January 22<2, 1844. 

I have looked over the sheets enclosed relative to the diseases of hogs, and am 
convinced that wbat is termed " quinsy" in these sheets is the same disease we were 
conversing about the other evening at Mr. Seaton's. By careful attention to the 
early stages of this disease, if it is the same that afflicts our swine in the west, it 
will be found that they will become stiff in all their limbs, and will move with as 
much difficulty as a foundered horse, and with almost the precise symptoms. 

When this is the case, we know of no cure but a thorough cleansing and opening 
of the ducts or holes in the inside of the fore-legs, which will give free respiration : 
this, with ashes and sulphur mixed with salt, or incorporated with the food, will 
generally effect a cure. 
21* 



246 DISEASES IN SWINE. 

Kidney -Worm.— There is a fatal disease amongst our swine in the west, called the 
Kidney-Worm, which causes a weakness in the back, and finally a falling of the 
hind quarters, which they will drag around for months, until they become the most 
loathsome objects that you can conceive of. Arsenic in small portions, mixed with 
their food, will generally prove effectual, if given in the first stages of the disease; 
and the best preventive medicine is ashes and sulphur mixed with their salt; for 
hogs require as regular salting to keep them healthy and in good condition as do 
cattle or horses. — S.] 

COSTIVENESS. 

This is not an uncommon complaint of the confined and fattening 
hog, and is easily removed by the Epsom salts, or by five grains of 
calomel being given in a little of the animal's favourite food. It will 
be dangerous, however, to push the calomel beyond the second or 
third dose, for the hog is very easily salivated. The bowels having 
been well opened, a dose of the Alterative Powder (Recipe No. 2, p. 
244) given every fourth day will be very beneficial, and will hasten 
the fattening of the styed hog that exhibits any disposition to cos- 
tiveness. 

Sometimes, however, this costiveness is produced by — 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS, 

which is attended by considerable pain, heat and tenderness of the 
abdomen, with a quick pulse, and other symptoms of fever, and some- 
times by fits and insensibility. The treatment should consist of 
copious bleeding, oily laxatives, clysters, warm fomentations to the 
abdomen, and, if the animal is not too large, warm baths. 



INDEX 



Page 
Abortion, the cause and remedy, 72 
Absorbents, account of the, . . 31, 33 
After-pains, the treatment of,. . 196 
Age of cattle, how known by the 

horns, 21 

teeth, 20 

Aloes, seldom used for cattle and 

sheep, 44 

Alum whey, prescription for, . . 64 
Angle-berries, account of, .... 122 

Apoplexy in swine, 242 

Arteries, account of the, 26 

Astringent drink, 61, 64, 200 

Belly, wounds in, treatment of, 117 

Bile, account of the, 32 

■ obstruction of the, 55 

Black-foot, description of the, . . 141 
■ leg, the nature and treat- 
ment of, 82 

■ quarter, ditto, ib. 

water, the treatment of, . 66 

Bladder, inflammation of the, in 

cattle, 94 

neck of, ib. 

• stone in the, 96 

Blain, nature and treatment of. 80 
Blast, nature and treatment of, 

in cattle, 101 

■ in sheep, 209 

Bleeding, when necessary, .... 42 

manner of performing, 43 

from the navel string, 1 33 

of sheep, 193 

■ from wounds, treat- 
ment of, 117 

Blindness in sheep, 235 

Blister ointment, a recipe for,. . 57 

Blood, account of the, 33, 82 

the nature and treatment 

of, in cattle, 82 

sheep, 203 

swine, 241 



Page 
Blown, nature and treatment of, 

in cattle, 101 

sheep, 209 

Bones, the structure and use of, 19 
Bowels, inflammation of the, in 

cattle, 59 

Brain, account of the, 24 

inflammation of the, .... 56 

in sheep, 206 

swine, 242 

Bruises, treatment of, 119 

Bull-burnt, treatment of, 127 

Bulling, how to produce, ib. 

Bullock, age of the, 21 

Calf, description of its natural 

growth in the womb, 36 

early treatment of the, . . 132 

bed, protrusion^kf the, .... 74 

Calves, the diseases of, 131 

cordial, an excellent one, 134 

Calving, treatment of the cow, 

before, during, and after, ... 71 

symptoms ofits approach, 73 

difficult treatment of, . . ib. 

Cancer of the eye, 99 

Cancerous ulcers, treatment of, 121 
Canker in the mouth, in calves, 137 
Capillaries, account of the, .... 26 
Cartilage, the structure and use 

of, 20 

Castration of lambs, directions 

for, 197 

Catarrh, in cattle, on 47 

sheep, 207 

Cattle, different names applied to, 21 

diseases of, 138 

zoological description of, 19 

Cautions, general, respecting 

sheep, 239 

Caul, account of the, 35 

Cellular membrane, account of 

the, 24 

(247) 



248 



INDEX. 



Chest, description of the, 21 

wounds in, treatment of, 116 

Choking, 108 

Mr. Simmond's instru- 
ment for, 109 

Chyle, account of the, 31 

Chyme, account of the, ib. 

Circulation, account of the, .... 25 
Clatting of the ewes, recom- 
mended, 195 

Cleansing after calving, nature of 76 
Clue-bound, nature and treat- 
ment of, 130 

Coagulation of the milk in lambs, 198 

Cold, in cattle, 46 

sheep, 207 

peculiarly dangerous to 

young lambs, ib. 

Condition, high, danger of, ... . 72 
Consumption, from the hoose, . . 49 

Cordials, drink for cattle, 79 

cautions with regard 

to them, 49 

Corrosive sublimate employed in 
too great quantities, is poison- 
ous, ^ 1 25 

Costiveness inxalves, treatment 

of, 135 

cattle, on, 59 

lambs, treatment 

of, .... 135, 201 

swine, treatment 

of, 241 

Cough drink for cattle, a, 46 

in calves, nature and 

treatment of, 137 

— — cattle, nature and 

treatment of, ... . 47 

importance of immediate 

attention to, 47 

■ in sheep, nature and 

treatment of, 207 

in swine, nature and 

treatment of, 241 

Cow-pox,nature and treatment of, 1 28 
Crackling, under the skin, na- 
ture of, 85, 212 

Croton Tiglii, its use as an oc- 
casional purgative, 44 

Debility in sheep, on, 234 

Diaphragm, an account of the, 28 



Diarrhoea, in calves, treatment of, 1 33 

cattle, treatment of, 61 

lambs, treatment of, 199 

sheep, treatment cf, 233 

Digestion, account of, 28 

Disinfectant lotion, the composi- 
tion of, 85 

Diuretic drink for cattle, 69 

Downfall in the udder, 68 

Draining, under, the importance 

of, 215 

reasons of its ac- 

casional failure, ib. 
Dropping, after calving, nature 

and treatment of, 77 

Dysentery, on the, in cattle, ... 62 

Ears, sore, in hogs, 244 

Epidemic catarrh, on, 48 

of 1840 and 1841,... 91 

treatment of, ... . 92 

in sheep, 93 

in pigs, ib. 

Epsom salts, the best purgative 

for cattle and sheep, 44 

Ewe, the proper treatment of, 

while in lamb, 194 

Eye, diseases of the, in cattle, . 97 

■ in sheep, 235 

cancer, of the, 99 

inflammation of the, 98 

lids, diseases of the, ib. 

Falling down of calf-bed, . . 75, 196 
Fardel-bound, nature and treat- 
ment of, 130 

Fat, account of, 23 

Feeding, general observations on, 249 
Feet of oxen, the proper form of, 22 

wounds in, 116 

Fellon, on, 51 

Fever drink for cattle, 46 

Fistulous withers in oxen, ... 115 
Flies on sheep, treatment of, . . 230 
Flukes in sheep, description of, 213 

Fcetus, account of the, 36 

Foot-rot, the, 218 

highly infectious, 219, 222 

treatment of the, 220 

Fore-arm. description of the,. . . 22 
Form of cattle, the proper, .... 21 



IN DE X 



249 



Foul in the foot, treatment of the, 123 
Fox-glove, poisonous for cattle, 112 

Fractures, treatment of, 121 

■ in sheep, 237 

Gall lambs, what, 197 

Garget, on the, 68 

ointment for cattle, ... 69 

Gar gyse, nature and treatment of, 80 
Gastric juice, account of the, . . 31 
Giddiness in sheep, nature and 

treatment of, 204 

Glands, description of the, 34 

Glauber salts, a purgative for 

cattle*. 44 

Goggles in sheep, nature and 

treatment of, 206 

Grub, the, in sheep, 236 

Gullet, account of the, 29 

Hair, account of the, * • . 23 

Haw, inflammation of the, .... 100 
Hawkes, nature and treatment 

of, 80 

Head, description of the, 20 

Healing ointment, 53 

Heart, account of the, 25 

Heifer, age of the, 21 

Hellebore, black, the root of, the 

best seton, 46 

Hemlock, poisonous for cattle, . 112 

Hock, description of the, 22 

Hoose in calves, nature and treat- 
ment of, 137 

cattle, nature and treat- 
ment of, 46 

Hoove in cattle, nature and treat- 
ment of, 101 

• sheep, nature and treat- 
ment of, 207 

Hornet, treatment of the stings of, 114 
Horn, broken, treatment of, . . . 118 
Horns, the, connected with the 

age, 21 

Humanity towards the sheep en- 
forced, 239 

Hydatid on the brain, in sheep, 204 
Hydrophobia in cattle, the nature 

and treatment of, 130 

Indigestion, on, in sheep, 234 

Inflammation, external, 40 



Inflammation, internal, 41 

theory of, 40 

of the bladder, in 

cattle, 94 

neck of, ib. 

bowels, in cattle, 59 

— swine, 246 



brain, in cattle, . 56 

sheep, . 206 

swine,. 242 

eye,...' 98 

kidneys in cattle, 65 
liver in cattle, . . 53 
lungs, in cattle, . 50 

sheep. . . 208 

■swine,. . 241 



Inflammatory fever, in cattle,. . 82 
sheep, 203 



Influenza, on, 47 

in sheep, 208 



Intestines, an account of the, .. 31 
Iodine ointment, 69 

Jaundice, account of, in cattle, . 55 
sheep, 210 



Joint-fellon, 52 

wounds in the, treat- 
ment of, 114 

Joints, humours about the, .... 118 

Kidneys, account of the, 35 

— inflammation of the, . 65 



Lacteals, account of the, 31 

Lambing, the assistance which 

should be rendered in, 194 

signs of danger in,. . 195 

season, the duties of, . 194 

ewes should be 

sheltered then, 194 
Lambs, young, the diseases of,. 198 
the attention they re- 
quire when dropped, . 196 

Leech bites, treatment of, 114 

Leg, fore, description of the, ... 22 
hind, description of the, . . ib. 



Lice on cattle, how to destroy,. 126 

sheep, how to destroy,. 229 

Linseed oil, a good purgative, . . 44 

Liver, account of the, 32 

inflammation of the,. ... 53 



Locked jaw in cattle, 110 



250 



INDEX. 



Lungs, inflammation of the, 50, 208 

Mad-itch in cattle, the cause of, 141 
Mange in cattle, nature and 

treatment of, 125 

swine, nature and 

treatment of, ... . 244 

ointment, the best, .... 125 

Many plus, account of the, . . . 29, 30 
Measles in swine, nature and 

treatment c*f, 243 

Medicines should be given in a 

fluid form, 30 

Mesentery, account of the, .... 32 
Milk, coagulation of the, in the 

lamb's stomach, 198 

fever in cows, nature and 

treatment of, 76, 140 

should be all drawn at each 

milking, 70 

how to dry a cow of, 124 

Murrain, nature and treatment 

of, 85,90 

Muscles, account of the, 24 

Navel-string, bleeding from the, 133 
Neat cattle, number of, in each 

State, 37 

Neck, description of the, 21 

Nerves, account of the, 24 

Nose, discharge from the, in 

sheep, 207 

Omentum, account of the, 35 

Over-feeding danger of, 83 

young lambs, dan- 
ger of, 197 

Ox, advantages from the use of 

the, 142 

machine for shoeing the, . . 151 

shoe, description of the,. . . 152 

skeleton of the, 38 

teams, compared with horse- 
teams, 146 

treatment of the, 162 

useful in teams for heavy 

draft, 148 

yoke for the, description of, 165 

Pancreas, account of the, 33 

Paunch, account of the, 29 



Paunching, account of,. . . 103, 209 
Pelt of the dead lamb should 
never be the shepherd's perqui- 
site, 194 

Periosteum, description of the,. 20 
Peritoneum, account of the, .. . 35 
Perspiration, account of the, ... 34 
Pestilential fever, nature and 

treatment of, 85 

Phrensy in cattle, on, 56 

Physicking, the object and ef- 
fect of, 43 

Pigging, directions concerning, 244 
Poisons of cattle, account of the, 

112, 168, 141 

Pregnancy, account of, 35 

Presentation, natural, in calving, 73 

unnatural, means 

to be adopted, 73, 195 
Protrusion of the womb, treat- 
ment of, 75,196 

Proud flesh, treatment of, 115 

Pulse, account of the, 26 

Purgatives, the best, 44, 140 

— when useful, 44 

doses of, 207 



Purging in calves, treatment of, 132 

cattle, treatment of, . 61 

drink, 47, 200 

for cattle, strong, 61 

sheep, 233 



Quarter evil, nature and treat- 
ment of, 82 

Quey, age of the, 21 

Quinsy in swine, nature and 
treatment of, 245 

Rabies, in cattle, nature and 
treatment of, 130 

Read Mr., his instrument for 
hoove, 104 

patent pump re- 
commended, . 106 

Red-water in cattle, 65 

important difference 

between its varie- 
ties, ib. 

in sheep, 202 

Rennet, account of the, 31 

Respiration, account of, 27 



INDEX. 



251 



Reticulum, account of the, .... 29 ] 

Rheumatic drink, 52, 53 

■ embrocation, 52 

Rheumatism, description and 

treatment of, 51 

Rot, the nature and treatment of, 211 

Rottenness in cattle, on, 63 

Rising of the lights in swine, . . 241 

Rumen, account of the, 29 

Ruminants, their distinguishing 

characteristics, 19 

Rumination, account of, 29 

Salt, the use of it for cattle and 
sheep, 44,208,217 

Scab, the nature and treatment 
of, 223 

ointment, the best, 224 

Scouring-rot in cattle, on the, . . 62 

Secretion, 34 

Setoning, 45 

Shape, inflammation of the,. . . 96 
Sheep, diseases of, 168, 193 

husbandry, 168 

different breeds of, their 

characteristics,.. 175,182 

their value, 182 

number of, in each State, 187 

Sore heads in sheep, 232 

ears in swine, 244 

teats in cows, 70 

ointment for, ... ib. 



Staggers, 58 

Staggers in lambs, 201 

Stone in the bladder, &c 96 

Strains, 119 

Sturdy in sheep, 204 

Swimming in the head, 58 

Swine, diseases of, 241 

Syringe, Read's patent veteri- 
nary, 104 

Ticks in sheep, 230 

Trembles, cause of the, 138 

account of the, 1 40 

Tumours about the joints, .... 121 

Udder, 36 

Ulcers, cancerous, 121 

Water in the head in sheep, . . . 204 
Wool, growth in each State,. . . 187 
value of different fleeces, 182 



Woollen goods, manufactures of, 

in the United States, 179 

Womb, scirrhous state of its en- 
trance prevents calving, .... 72 

operation for,. . . 75 

inversion of, 74 



Wounds in cattle, 114 

— sheep, 237 

Yellows, 55 

in sheep, 210 



THE END. 



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ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA. 



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A POPULAR DICTIONARY 



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the earnest desire of his heart to make its merits known to the world. In dwelling 
upon the achievements of our young Navy, the pure American fire of his genius once 
more blazes out as brightly as ever. In the interest which he has thrown around 
the cruises and combats of our ships of war, we trace the master hand which drew 
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task has been so performed as to leave nothing to desire. No work of higher interest 
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the energy which enabled the United States to form an effective navy, at a time 
when they could hardly be said to have had a political existence, and when they 
were beset by greater difficulties than any which an infant nation had ever yet to 
encounter. This consideration has animated the present historian, whose enthusiasm 
seems to be kindled by his office of chronicler, even more than when he formerly 
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sea. Altogether this history is a valuable one, and cannot fail to pass into universal 
circulation. The incidents which took place in the naval war with Tripoli, are 
grander and more heroic than any thing in the circle of romance, and are detailed 
with all the vigour and animation of Mr. Cooper's genius." — British Naval and 
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